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The key to building community lies in our neighborhoods. Neighborhood associations are great ways to maintain open lines of communications between residents and city government as well as among neighborhood associations themselves. I have been the chair of my neighborhood association and the co-chair of the Kirkland Alliance of Neighborhoods (KAN). I attend KAN meetings regularly and as many neighborhood association meetings as I can.

Effective neighborhood associations can act as pathways to exchange information with the city and pass on "what it's really like" on the ground in the neighborhood. That is an important aspect of community building. Good information flow helps us all improve things more quickly in areas where concerns are expressed.

We demand certain basics in each of our neighborhoods; the foremost is safety - safety for our family and our property. The most fundamental city services are those of our public safety organizations: emergency medical response, fire response, and police response. We must do these right or make them right with urgency.

I was the council member that called for creation of the city's Public Safety Committee, so we could focus on these vital functions. It has served us well. I am dedicated to ensuring that we improve our systems to meet increasing demands and achieving high approval ratings from residents. The last time we checked in with residents the highest satisfaction was expressed in Emergency Medical response, Fire response, and Police services. A key factor for annexation-area residents voting to join Kirkland (by just under 60%) was improved public safety services.

Another high priority topic in many neighborhood associations is traffic in the neighborhood. My first role in my neighborhood association was as the Traffic Committee Chair. There are potentially many traffic issues, but one that usually arises is speed control on neighborhood streets. The City recently cut the Neighborhood Traffice Control budget to the point that the last dedicated staff was laid off. We need to restore that service as expeditiously as possible to give each neighborhood better options in dealing with local traffic.