Monroe City Council at-large candidates discuss issues

It's that time of year again ' back-to-school, football games, pumpkin spice lattes and politics.

Four positions on the Monroe City Council are up for election in November, including the council's at-large seat. The at-large seat is the council's only two-year seat; the remainder of the positions have four-year terms.

Currently, the position is held by Councilmember Kurt Goering, who is ineligible for reelection due to Monroe's eight-year term limit. As a result, two political newcomers are vying for the position ' Kirk Scarboro and Patrick Daniels.

Both candidates sat down with the Monroe Monitor and Valley News recently to talk about their backgrounds and priorities for the city.

Kirk Scarboro

A resident of Monroe for 21 years, Scarboro comes from an extensive military background. Originally from southern California, he joined the U.S. Navy when he was 18 years old. Throughout his 28 years in the service, he served on SEAL teams and as a SEAL instructor. He served a total of three tours in Vietnam and was deployed in both Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Upon his retirement in 1994, he was rated an E9 force master chief petty officer.

He met his wife, Beverly, at the end of 1988 and the two married after six months. Originally from Monroe, Beverly moved to San Diego, Calif., to live with Scarboro during his last five years in the Navy. Once he retired, the couple returned to her home in Monroe.

Scarboro went to work for Monroe Public Schools, initially as a substitute custodian. He transitioned into the maintenance department and eventually was promoted to transportation supervisor. He worked for the school district for 17 years before retiring in January 2013. The 67-year-old became drawn to politics while watching the city's process throughout the ongoing east Monroe rezone proposal.

"I started watching that, and I said, "Something needs to change here,' GÇ¥ Scarboro said.

The east Monroe rezone is a complicated issue, Scarboro said, with numerous layers. But attending the meetings and listening to rezone discussions left him with concerns about whether or not members of the community were truly being heard. Scarboro asserted that the property owner indeed had every right to ask for a rezone, but he said he feels the issue should have been laid to rest once the Environmental Impact Statement was deemed invalid.

Scarboro said he has concerns about H3O Development's recent request to construct its new cable wakeboarding park at Lake Tye in two phases. He said he's worried whether the proposed park is truly the best thing for Monroe.

"I've heard a lot of people not happy that the serenity of their lake is being violated by these towers and this wakeboard park,GÇ¥ Scarboro said. "Will it draw kids? Maybe.GÇ¥-á -á

If elected, Scarboro said he looks forward to listening to what the people have to say and balancing that with the needs of the city.

"I don't have all the answers,GÇ¥ Scarboro said. "I think I can be honest and fair, and consider all of Monroe's citizens.GÇ¥

He is interested in downtown revitalization and supports the recent formation of the Downtown Monroe Association, a pending nonprofit group dedicated to the enhancement of the downtown core. Scarboro said he would like to see the city take a more proactive role in keeping the downtown area free from litter and debris because he thinks more can be done.

Trash and discarded cigarette butts have long been an issue in the downtown area, and he thinks if the city would commit to emptying the garbage cans on a more regular basis, it might compel downtown business owners to sweep in front of their shops more frequently.

"They're so full nobody can put anything in them,GÇ¥ Scarboro said. "We've got to do something to revitalize downtown.GÇ¥

While in his position as the transportation supervisor, Scarboro said he navigated a collaborative relationship between the school district and the Monroe Traffic Advisory Committee, a now-dissolved group that analyzed transportation issues in the city. He worked within the school district's budgetary guidelines to facilitate transportation for kids in the school district.

Scarboro said he hopes to put his professional skills to work in a way that benefits the Monroe community as a whole.

"I'm for all of the citizens of Monroe,GÇ¥ Scarboro said. "Not just special interest groups.GÇ¥

Patrick Daniels

Born in Washington, Patrick Daniels moved around a lot when he was growing up. His family ended up settling in Canada, where he lived for 10 years before returning to the Pacific Northwest to attend Washington State University. After graduating, he returned to Canada to work for the family business for three years before returning to Washington.

He got a job at the Topline Corporation in Bellevue, where he's worked for the last 26 years. Topline designs, imports and manufactures footwear.

He moved to Monroe with his wife after their first son was born 19 years ago. They had been living in Bellevue, and were looking for a place that would be better suited to raising a family, he said. After living in Monroe for a few years, Daniels discovered he had family ties to the area GÇô his great-grandfather worked for the railroads and operated a dairy farm up on Wagner Road.

He and his wife have three kids, aged 19, 16 and 13.

The 56-year-old considered running for city council many years ago, but decided to focus on his family. Now that his kids are older, Daniels said he feels the timing is more appropriate. If elected, Daniels said his business experience could be an asset to the city.

"My job is heavily involved in a lot of decision-making and analysis and forecasting, and so I just thought that I would be able to bring that to the table for the community,GÇ¥ Daniels said.

Daniels in interested in seeking revitalization for Monroe's downtown core and also supports the new Downtown Monroe Association. While living in Canada, Daniels said he watched his family successfully transform a town called Unionville, and he's hopeful something like that could happen in Monroe.

He said it's important to attract businesses along U.S. 2 and in the North Kelsey area, and he wants to bring new manufacturing businesses to Monroe's industrial park near the Fryelands. He would also like to encourage development of property located at the north end of Lake Tye.

"I feel this location would be very suitable for an outdoor recreation-oriented retailer, among others,GÇ¥ Daniels said.

He referred to the east Monroe rezone proposal as a property rights issue, and called it a "very delicate situation.GÇ¥ He disputed one argument made by rezone opposition that zoning the property General Commercial isn't feasible because it would cost far too much to develop the land.-á

"I don't think that criteria like that is for the city to decide GÇô whether it's a good or bad business decision,GÇ¥ Daniels said. "If a business was to ever want to develop that site, I think it's up to the business to determine whether they can do that.GÇ¥

Daniels lives in the Fryelands area, and is familiar with H3O's plans to construct a new cable wakeboarding facility at Lake Tye. He said he enjoys the peace he experiences walking around the lake on Saturday mornings, so he initially questioned the park idea. But, when considering the waterpark in the context of an elected city official, Daniels said he had to think differently.

"It's not a sport I participate in, but it's something that would be a benefit to the city,GÇ¥ Daniels said.

Daniels said it's important ensure Monroe remains an affordable place for families.

"That's why we came here; it was more affordable for us than Bellevue was,GÇ¥ Daniels said. "I think it's important to maintain that part of the community.GÇ¥