Don Ellis feels his job is not finished.
Eric Adman notes that sometimes a fresh perspective is good for the group.
Stan Isenhath said he has a track record of simply making things happen.
These three Kenmore men are referencing King County Fire Protection District No. 16 (Northshore Fire Department) and vying for the Commissioner Position No. 1, starting with the Aug. 16 primary and with the top-two vote-getters moving on to the Nov. 8 general election. Ballots will be mailed to voters on July 27.
Incumbent Ellis, who has been a Northshore commissioner since 1988, said “the challenges facing Northshore Fire are substantial and unprecedented.”
He added that the negotiations with the union firefighters are in mediation, with no resolution in sight: “With over 80 percent of the budget in wages and benefits, our future expenditures are unknown.”
As a certified fraud examiner from 2005 to present, Ellis believes his financial expertise is an asset to the board’s finance committee. He and Commissioner Carolyn Armanini make recommendations to the board and staff to fulfill their obligations to the rate payers, without increasing their assessments.
“There have already been substantial operational cost reductions without any layoffs,” he said. From there, they are crafting two major efforts: Carefully adding to the tax revenues by borrowing funds from reserves; and searching with neighboring agencies for mutual cost-saving alliances.
“Both of these alternatives show promise,” he added.
His community service includes: Representative to NORCOM (Northeast King County Regional Public Safety Communication Agency — 911); chair of the Northshore Fire District 2008 through 2010; chair of the Snohomish River Water Authority from 1995 inception to present.
According to Adman, a Shoreline Fire Department paramedic, “the commission currently does not have a member with the first-hand experience I have of working on the front line of the fire department, and the knowledge that comes with it.”
Since his department provides paramedic service for Northshore, he literally works side-by-side on emergency calls with the Northshore firefighters, he added, and that gives him a chance to see what does and doesn’t work.
The concept of regionalization of service should be examined, Adman said, as smaller fire departments have greater challenges in dealing with budget issues, less flexibility in moving resources to meet needs and more per-capita administrative overhead. Overall, they need to provide the best service to the citizens, he said.
Both Ellis and Adman noted that Chief Tom Weathers will be retiring in the near future, so that is a major concern for the commission.
Adman’s community service includes: Chair of a local environmental group, the Sno-King Watershed Council; boardmember of the Adopt-A-Stream Foundation; assisting a local grassroots medical relief group, EMPACT Northwest, to establish a pilot emergency medical service in Haiti, and he will be there teaching emergency medical technicians in August.
Isenhath, an associate real-estate broker with 35 years experience in corporate management in technology systems, believes the fire commission’s effectiveness will depend much on listening to residents and performing within budgets.
“I identify strategic goals and priorities and bring them to conclusion within available, limited resources. I know we can do this without raising more taxes. I look forward to working collaboratively with our public safety agencies,” he said on the King County Elections site.
His community service includes: Kenmore Planning Commission, Downtown Task Force selection, Shoreline Management, Inglewood Country Club, Northshore School District and Residential Housing.
