Enumclaw City Council Position No. 5 | Thomas Mann
Enumclaw City Council Position No. 7 | Hoke Overland and Sean Krebs
Serving on the City Council is an important job that deserves our best people. In order for you to decide which candidates can best serve the city, I’ve asked four questions of each candidate. I then cut and pasted so that you could see their views, in their own words. I plan on doing each council position per week.
This week’s column will hear from the candidates for Position No. 3: Shelby DeVol vs. Shelby DeVol.
Shelby DeVol Maike Sando
Question: Briefly describe your background and education as it relates to the Enumclaw City Council.
• Shelby DeVol
I have called Enumclaw my hometown for my entire life and am an Enumclaw High School graduate. I earned my Business Degree from Highline Community College and I currently work as the Finance Manager for two Enumclaw businesses.
• Mike Sando
I graduated from Meadowdale High School in Edmonds in 1985 and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from Western in 1992. My first career was working for a State Senator for nine years as a legislative assistant. I took some time to care for my family and enrolled in St. Martin’s University to become a teacher. I began my second career in 2002 and was fortunate to be hired to teach here in Enumclaw in 2005.
Vision: Describe how you see Enumclaw now, and how you would like to see it five years from now.
• Shelby DeVol
I currently see Enumclaw as a high-quality community to live, work, and enjoy. The friendly people, the genuine, small-town atmosphere, and the excellent services that are provided by both private and public sectors combined make Enumclaw an admirable place. In the next 5 years, I view Enumclaw with its current strengths that I listed above with improvements to infrastructure and an increase in welcoming Enumclaw tourism to boost businesses.
• Mike Sando
Currently, we are beginning to gather some momentum that is exciting. Looking forward, I hope to see a thriving downtown that keeps us shopping here and a community that attracts visitors from all over. I’d like to see us keep and add more manufacturing businesses. We can also recruit more medical and technology companies to our community. I’d also like to see us work with the County and State to capitalize on opportunities for our city to grow sensibly.
Specific areas of interest in the city if elected, and strengths you would bring to the Council position.
• Shelby DeVol
No matter what, my purpose is to serve for the benefit of public. If elected, I would like to focus on improving our roads and infrastructure, help with refining our valuable Expo Center to becoming a successful, self-sustaining asset, and make well though-out decisions that will allow quality, reasonable growth that relates to our unique town.
• Mike Sando
I am interested in using my experience with the federal, state, and county government to help our community focus on building a vibrant and dynamic future. I would like to be an advocate and promoter of Enumclaw in our region. My strengths are talking with people, working on issues, and seeking solutions–this is what energizes me. I may not have all the answers, but I am ready to listen, compromise, and work towards positive outcomes.
Contrast versus your opponent: Describe why you would be better suited for the Council position than your opponent.
• Shelby DeVol
I am a new generation with new ideas, an open mind, and energy to help produce solutions with fellow Council members. My background in Business Finance naturally leads me to an interest in fiscal responsibility. Being raised in a small business, I am well educated on negotiating, making thorough decisions, and the balance between the public and private industries.
• Mike Sando
Since coming to Enumclaw eight years ago, I’ve learned so much about our community and how great a place it is to live and to raise a family. In addition to being a parent, teacher, and coach, I’ve volunteered with the Chamber, been working to create opportunities for young people, and been active in community groups. I think it is important to be mindful of the impact of the decisions we make and the tone we set as leaders.
Note: I strongly suggest you save these candidate responses until you have a chance to vote on your absentee ballot. Hopefully, these responses will give you a sense of what each candidate might bring to our city and help you to make careful choices. Next week I will bring you two more candidates who will speak to you with their own words their answers to my four questions.
