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Julie Hsieh - Candidate for Mercer Island City Council Position 7
130 Plays1 month ago
In this episode of the Mercer Matters Podcast, I speak with Julie Hsieh, candidate for Mercer Island City Council (Position 7). Julie discusses her journey as a physician, small-business owner, and community volunteer, and outlines her priorities: ensuring fiscal responsibility while maintaining core city services and infrastructure, supporting a vibrant town center and local businesses, fostering public safety, and promoting civic engagement—especially through the arts and neighborhood partnerships.
To learn more about Julie Hsieh’s campaign for Mercer Island City Council Position 7, visit: http://www.julieformicity.org
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Transcript
Introduction to Mercer Matters Podcast
00:00:03
Speaker
Welcome to this episode of the Mercer Matters podcast. I'm Ben Sharp and I'm your host. I started this podcast about two years ago to give Mercer Island residents another way to get information on local elections and bond measures.
00:00:16
Speaker
If you enjoy this podcast, I would appreciate it if you could like it on the platform that you're listening to and also share with your friends and family via social media. Without further ado, here is the next episode.
Julie Shea Joins the Conversation
00:00:28
Speaker
Hi, everybody. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Mercer Matters podcast. I'm Ben Sharp, and I'm your host for today's discussion ah with Dr. Julie Shea, candidate for Mercer Island City Council, position seven.
00:00:40
Speaker
um Julie, I'd like to start off by thanking you for stepping up and running for city council. um As I tell all candidates, it's I know it's a lot of work and a lot of effort to put yourself out there and run for office. so i appreciate you doing this on behalf of our community.
00:00:53
Speaker
um For those listening, just a quick programming note, ah Julie had initially declined my offer to come on the program. She had a lot going on in different candidate forums, ah but she and I met for coffee yesterday.
00:01:06
Speaker
um She was interested kind of hear my perspective. And ah as a result of that discussion, um here we are today. So that's why we're a little bit late getting this out, but better late than never, as they say.
Julie's Background and Career
00:01:19
Speaker
um so Julie, want to just jump right in and give you, maybe start by giving you an opportunity to introduce yourself, maybe a little about your background and how you ended up on Mercer Island.
00:01:30
Speaker
um And then, you know, how your past experience makes you the best choice for city council for Mercer Island. Yeah, thanks so much, Ben. Thanks so much for having me on Mercer Matters. I'm Julie Shea, running for Mercer Island City Council, position seven. And like you said, um better late than never. So I really appreciate this opportunity.
00:01:47
Speaker
Yeah, thanks for coming. ah appreciate it. So yeah, it was really lovely to meet you yesterday at at our local Starbucks and just um get to know you a little bit more before coming on your show. And um yeah, so I just wanted to let everyone know a bit about my background. So my family's originally from Taiwan and I grew up in Dallas, Texas.
00:02:08
Speaker
um And yeah, i studied really hard and I got to Stanford, made it to Stanford for undergrad where I was pre-med. um And then went to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas for my medical doctorate and did my family medicine residency at UC Irvine.
00:02:28
Speaker
um And um yeah, so after that, I got married to my husband, David. he he um He got a job at Microsoft. So that's what brought us up here to the beautiful Pacific Northwest.
00:02:43
Speaker
And I started my own practice in family medicine, solo practice in Bellevue. And I saw patients for seven years. He was ah you know a lawyer at Microsoft um and a doctor.
00:02:56
Speaker
you know, we were thinking of having kids. So we moved to Mercer Island because of the safety of Mercer Island, the schools on Mercer Island. And that was in 2008. So yes, I had my practice, um seeing patients um from newborns to adults to elderly. And I had two kids during that time.
00:03:19
Speaker
And um they were you know They went to Country Village Day School when it was next to Mary Waite Pool.
Return and Community Engagement on Mercer Island
00:03:26
Speaker
um Yeah, so after seven years of practicing as a family physician, I felt like there was something i was meant to do um that I hadn't exactly discovered yet in my life.
00:03:41
Speaker
So um I convinced David to move to Taiwan with our two young children, who were two and four at the time. And there... In Taiwan, I discovered my passion for visual arts.
00:03:56
Speaker
I developed as an artist, you know, and we lived there for seven years. But, you know, COVID hit. um that made That was a huge change, right, for everybody. um And we decided to come back to Mercer Island. This was summer of 2014.
00:04:13
Speaker
twenty one to get our COVID vaccine. And so, yeah, in fact, COVID brought us back to Mercer Island. um And at that time, my kids were in third and fifth grade at Lake Ridge, and we decided to stay.
00:04:28
Speaker
My first volunteer experience, you know I started to delve into volunteering you know during my second period of time on Mercer Island with this new identity as an artist and as someone who you know saw how art brought together people And I just so really interested in getting to know our community more. So my first volunteer experience was at Lake Ridge as the chair of the Lion King musical.
00:04:52
Speaker
So I got to know a lot. Yeah, a lot of amazing parents there. um And they saw how well I worked together with everyone. And so I was like, I'm a newbie because I hadn't been here since preschool. ah you know I was really excited about volunteering. So then I got recruited um to revamp the PTA Reflections Art Program at the PTA Council level.
00:05:15
Speaker
And then I also got recruited to join the IMS PTSA board. In fact, where I worked with your wife and your sister-in-law. so And also the Schools Foundation board.
00:05:26
Speaker
And later on, you know, I got um recruited to join the Fine Arts Advisory Council, which um supports the Fine Arts Showcase every year. And in fact, I chaired it um since last year.
00:05:39
Speaker
And that was an amazing experience. just really devoting a lot of my time and energy to all these amazing experiences of giving back to our community. um You know, we're we're racing our children, you know, they're now at the middle school and the high school.
00:05:55
Speaker
um And yeah, it's just been a great experience getting to know our community. And I have a strong feeling of belonging to our community because of um all of my volunteer experiences.
00:06:08
Speaker
And it also branched out to the greater community. So I got recruited to join um the Rotary Club of Mercer Island and currently on the board there. And um also I'm a member of MYVOL, Mercer Island Visual Arts League.
Wanru Arts Center and Community Involvement
00:06:21
Speaker
um And um in fact, you know, I've opened up my gallery, Wanru Arts Center in Bellevue, and I've hosted a number of exhibitions and events for Mercer Island artists and Mercer Island artists.
00:06:35
Speaker
um nonprofits. And um it's, yeah, I just love to love how, you know, bring the community together through the arts, through all of my volunteer work. And um so that's been a large part of my experience, you know, during the second period of my life on Mercer Island is just giving back to the community.
00:06:54
Speaker
And this opportunity came up to, to run for city council, you know i had residents asking me if I would run.
Why Run for City Council?
00:07:01
Speaker
And I saw this as an extension of what I've been doing Mercer Island is to bring community together and to, you know give back to this community, you know, where my family are so proud to call Mercer Island our home.
00:07:14
Speaker
And, um, that's kind of a bit of my background and how I got to where we are today. Awesome. Well, thanks. Thanks for sharing that. Um, yeah, as you and I were talking yesterday, you know, I've noticed there's a ah small group of ah volunteers, mostly women, uh, at the schools and, uh,
00:07:29
Speaker
They run everything. um And so it's ah I appreciate that. And it's a it's a ton of a ton of effort ah you all put into supporting our kids. I'm kind of curious. Why did you choose city council you know over maybe school board? Was there a reason for that? Or you just kind of people were kind of pushing you into the city council position or what was the what was your thought process behind that?
00:07:50
Speaker
Yeah, I was considering school board. um you know In fact, my husband ran for school board two years ago, um David Figgatner. So I had a little experience you know campaigning for school board. um But you know i was thinking that I wasn't sure if I wanted to even just put myself out there. It's a very vulnerable experience to to be a candidate. um And um I wasn't sure if was the right time. And so You know, there were residents and parents asking me if I would consider being candidate for school board. But we had two amazing or, you know, we had several amazing candidates step up.
00:08:27
Speaker
um So then I thought, OK, good. I will just um support support them on the campaign team. But then later, you know, this um this opportunity came up for a city council.
00:08:38
Speaker
You know, and in fact, I was heavily involved with the school bond effort and, you I wanted to have a closer partnership between our city and our schools, because I think, you know, many of us moved here because of the schools on Mercer Island.
00:08:55
Speaker
So I was hoping that, you know, being on city council, I could help to um have a closer partnership between our city council and in our school district. board in our schools on Mercer Island. And I saw it as a way of um just being a bridge um and bringing people together in our community. Because that's what I'm all about, is I'm a connector. you know as um In the art field, you're constantly just connecting people. and you know Through all of my volunteer experiences, you know that's what I do. I bring people together.
00:09:26
Speaker
And you know i would love to see that in our greater community, not just in our schools, but throughout Mercer Island, the collaboration between our schools and our city, also closer partnership with all the amazing institutions that form a dark part of our island.
00:09:43
Speaker
So, you know, like the Youth and Family Services Foundation,
Public Safety and City Priorities
00:09:47
Speaker
MyVol, the Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce, you know, all of our um amazing small businesses in the town center.
00:09:55
Speaker
um You know, I just in the our farmer's market, you know I've, I just um over the years, just have a part in all these amazing organizations. And I would love to bring them together, you know, and make um just a greater impact at our city level, you know, for the whole entire community of Mercer Island.
00:10:15
Speaker
Because, you know, we have a lot of families here, but we also have seniors, you know, and so i want to make sure we support the seniors here on Mercer Island and just be a community where, you know, children thrive, families thrive.
00:10:30
Speaker
are flourishing, and then aging is met with dignity and care. So, you know, just as as a that was a background as a family doctor, you know, I want to take care of, you know, the entire from newborn to adults to the elderly, I want to take care of everybody.
00:10:45
Speaker
It's just part of who I am. um So yeah, so when this opportunity came up for to run for city council, I thought, wow, you know, this could be where I can make you know that greater impact and bring our community together.
00:10:59
Speaker
um So yeah, so I jumped in and um here here we are. Well, thank you. No, that's that's awesome. And i maybe my my first question for you is, um I'm curious to kind of get your thoughts about what you see as the the biggest challenges that face the city Mercer Island over the next couple of years.
00:11:16
Speaker
and then And then maybe you could dovetail into that, kind of what you were talking to me about yesterday, where your approach kind of bringing outsiders into the process to help solve some of these challenges? Oh, yes. Yes. So, you know, my top priorities are public safety and emergency preparedness. I'll, you know, have three main ones, but I'll start with that.
00:11:35
Speaker
um So, you know, i would love to work with our police and our fire departments to improve traffic and pedestrian safety, um look at our e-bike regulations and strengthen emergency preparedness through programs like CERT, our community emergency response team, and also map your neighborhood where, you know, you can um get your neighbors together and then the police department will send someone to talk to your neighborhood about emergency preparedness, you know, which household has, you know, what resources, you know, what, how can we be better prepared for
00:12:08
Speaker
um emergencies like when we had the bomb cycle, right? um And um the other thing that I think is a top priority is the Prop 1, right? So I fully support a a new public safety and maintenance facility.
00:12:22
Speaker
In fact, all of the candidates for city council and all the city council members have endorsed this bond. We really need this because currently our police department, you know, they're working from trailers.
00:12:36
Speaker
I don't know if you were at the um National Night Out, but but I think you were there, right? Or you've seen those. No, I wasn't at the I wasn't the night out, but I did a ride along one night with a couple of the officers and spent some time in the yeah in the in the te trailers they've got. So, yeah, it's not great.
00:12:53
Speaker
I can attest to that. Yeah, it's cramped. And in fact, you know, we lost our police department lost accreditation through the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs.
00:13:05
Speaker
We don't have a sally port, we don't have a secure holding area. You know, when you lose accreditation, it's not good for morale, it's not good for retention, it's not good for recruitment.
00:13:16
Speaker
You know, in fact, we have to spend $30,000 just to recruit an officer to work on Mercer Island. when you compare to neighboring cities with you know proper facilities for their police department.
00:13:27
Speaker
you know And besides um the police department, this PSM facility, the public safety um and maintenance facility will also house the emergency operations center, you know, also an actual customer service counter.
00:13:40
Speaker
So, you know, people have been saying, yeah, we we we don't know where to go, right? Because, I mean, we don't have a city hall that was condemned in 2023 due to asbestos getting into the ventilation unit. So, you know, city staff have been working virtually, so people can only contact them through email, by phone, and um it's just not efficient.
00:14:00
Speaker
So, you know, having this um new PSN facility will have a customer service counter there um to be able to address needs more efficiently. And as well, there will also be a public works maintenance team and yard to just house all of those heavy equipment that we need for um snow removal, for street repairs, for utility emergencies, you know, in proper storage so that they're not just open to the elements.
00:14:28
Speaker
So currently, you know, there's a snowstorm and, you know, our maintenance team have to dig out the snow plow. It takes them like an hour to dig it out of the snow. It just just slows things down and, um you know, just makes it less efficient and those um heavy equipment just open to the elements like that.
00:14:47
Speaker
You know, it's it's hard for maintenance, you know, we will have to replace it more often. Yeah. So i I feel like, you know, it's really important that, um you know, our community thinks about the importance of having this new facility.
00:15:00
Speaker
And it's something that will be a legacy you know for future generations. um And this is also built to be um category four earthquake risk proof so that you know in case there's a major earthquake, um this building will be standing so that the emergency respondents can get get to us and help us, right?
00:15:21
Speaker
So I think there's, um yeah, a lot of pros, definitely a lot of pros to having this facility. And they say it's $55 per month for a medium $2 million dollar house.
00:15:33
Speaker
And it's 25-year bond. I understand that, you know, there are some seniors on fixed incomes. It's really difficult for them. um And there are exemptions that you can apply for so that you don't have to pay these excess levies.
00:15:46
Speaker
So for seniors that qualify. So that's, some you know, I think a huge topic that's coming up. um Yeah. Did you want to say anything else about that? No, that's, i'm I'm glad you touched on that because that's, was one of kind of my primary questions to to chat with you about. So, um so no, thank thank you for articulating your position on, on Proposition 1.
00:16:06
Speaker
I'm curious to kind of go back to, you named, you know, public safety as kind of the, one of the top priorities for you. Are there specific issues or concerns that you have from a public safety perspective?
00:16:17
Speaker
And then, you know, perhaps, you know, one of those is the coming light rail, if it's not, you know, maybe you could talk a little bit about that in your perspective on the impact of that. Yeah, I think we all moved to Mercer Line because it is a safe place.
00:16:30
Speaker
It's a safe community. You know, so I'm thinking about public safety as regards to, you know, improving traffic and pedestrian safety, right? And also improving safety with the e-bikes.
E-bike Regulations and Safety
00:16:40
Speaker
And, you know, and we mentioned yesterday,
00:16:43
Speaker
you know, about there are certain, maybe certain parts on the north end of our island where safety has been more of a concern. And um so, yeah, just working with our police and fire departments to make sure that, you know, everyone feels safe living here and working here and visiting Mercer Island.
00:17:01
Speaker
Yeah, the the light rail is coming. So, you know, we would have to have, you more police, you know, on site near the light rail to make sure that, you know, we have um pedestrian safety and, you know, improve the, just, you know, trying to see if we can have more people visiting our town center to support our businesses there.
00:17:20
Speaker
You know, i think it's an opportunity. And then just um having enough police officers, which goes back to, you know, is how important is to approve this city bond. because that will help with retention and recruiting of police officers. it's all interconnected. It's a lot like a body, a human body.
00:17:38
Speaker
all these different systems. you know They are interconnected. And we need to kind of look at just the broad vision of um you know all that's going to be happening on Mercer Island with the light rail.
00:17:49
Speaker
um and yeah so And we have these you know, these state mandates about housing, right? So that's another um big topic, I think, that we need to just make sure that the community is aware of.
00:18:03
Speaker
um So did you, should I talk more about that part? Well, I think, no, that's, I think, helpful to kind of frame the overview. since I have a follow-up question. So since you you mentioned e-bikes a couple of times, it's not something planning on talk about, but i I'd be curious to get your thoughts on you know what you think ought to be done. Now, you know the city council just passed, I think, an ordinance. I haven't dug into it ah too much, to be honest. so i I don't know that I could speak to it, but I'd be curious kind of get your thoughts just philosophically on the e-bikes. What do you think ought to be done?
00:18:33
Speaker
what What should the kids be allowed to ride versus not? What are your thoughts on that? I have a kid at the middle school, and I remember um um last year, towards end of the year, you know they had officers come out from the police department to talk to them about e-bike safety.
00:18:49
Speaker
And um I think it that's great. you know to this Again, like this closer partnership between our schools and our our city. you know I've heard a lot of people on Facebook and on social media You know, just saying that there been in many instances where, you know, kids almost ran over someone's dog or was um on those e-bikes riding a little bit recklessly.
00:19:13
Speaker
And, you know, we we do need to have regulations to protect those kids, right, to protect the kids, to protect our pedestrians. And um it's something that um I'm very invested in in because I have a middle schooler.
00:19:26
Speaker
And um I do feel that we need to, you know, have that closer partnership between the city and our schools to help to ah solve this problem of of the e-bikes.
00:19:37
Speaker
And I would like to see registration of all e-bikes so that when um people see this, you know, maybe per ah you know, a kid riding on the streets and they're like, oh, oh, okay. So maybe they they get the license of this e-bike and then they can contact the parents or, you know, contact the police.
00:19:56
Speaker
And um that way, you know, we can make sure that the children are safe and that they know the rules and um to keep our community safe. Yeah. I think this, ah this issue has come up a lot during the summer.
00:20:08
Speaker
and definitely want to be on top of this. Yeah, I appreciate that. That that issue has kind of affected us you know fairly significantly because my kids have the you know the Lee Lee bikes with the pedals and all that. i mean, Mercer Island's got a lot of hills and it's really enabled them to be out and about, which i think is great.
00:20:24
Speaker
um But it's it's created a lot of friction with you know people in the community. and and you know and i and so And so I definitely think that, yeah, we we need to have some clarity for the kids. And then we also need to have clarity for the you know, for the adults that, hey, you know, there is a difference between a legal e-bike and an illegal e-bike.
00:20:44
Speaker
Right. And, you know, I think most of us want to see kids out, you know, being kids and having fun and not being on screens. But at the same time, you know, yeah. I mean, if you're driving a motorcycle, ah you know, that, that you know.
00:20:57
Speaker
that's in your underage, you know, that's not allowed. Right. So I get both sides of that. So, well, thanks for taking some time to kind of clarify your thoughts on that. So, yeah so you, I assume that you're, you're fine with the kids having a, you know, legally bike, you know, so long as it's registered or, you know, whatever kind of you would put forth there.
00:21:15
Speaker
um But then the motorcycles are, you know, the the ones that are, you know, not legally bikes, I'm assuming that you would want those off the road. Yeah, I mean, in fact, you know, the city council just adopted those new regulations last month, and this will go into effect on January 1st for e-motorcycles and e-dirt bikes.
00:21:35
Speaker
And so those will require valid driver's license with a motorcycle endorsement and a valid license plate. And um so, you know, so e-motorcycles have like a dirt bike style frame and they don't often have operable foot pedals and they're powered by electric motors like exceeding 750 watts.
00:21:56
Speaker
So um that's the definition of of that. And so, yeah, so so let's see how it goes with these new regulations, you know, going into effect on January 1st. And um they say that, you know, violators may be subject to fines or impoundment of their e-motorcycles.
00:22:13
Speaker
So, um but I think, you know we just need to continually just monitor this situation. um And also just, um yeah, having community input and making sure that, you know, community gets the information about what's going on.
00:22:27
Speaker
so that we can have a ah safe community, you know, for everybody, for the children who, you know, who, um who are on their e-bikes and also for the pedestrians and the cars too. Right. Yeah. I appreciate you, you know, sharing your thoughts on that because that's a, you know, if you have a middle schooler, that's something that has been, has been on everybody's mind. And so I appreciate you kind giving us a real world kind of example of,
00:22:51
Speaker
of of your position on that. um So to to switch gears a little bit, maybe could you give us kind of your 10 year vision of Mercer Island and the and the town center?
Housing Density and Growth Vision
00:23:02
Speaker
And maybe as part of that, you and I were talking yesterday about this whole housing density situation. um And that's something I've asked each candidate about. So maybe you could spend some time talking about that as a part of your vision for Mercer Island and specifically the town center over the next 10 years.
00:23:20
Speaker
Oh, yeah, sure. Yeah, there's definitely a topic that's on, you know on people's minds. And, um and I just want to first make clear that have no business relationship with any developers.
00:23:32
Speaker
And I've never advocated for a homeless shelter on the island. I just want to make that clear. And here's, you know, my stance on the state mandates, like the middle housing. So that's, um,
00:23:43
Speaker
essentially House Bill 1110, middle housing bill, they call it. Currently, in fact, you know, the city has passed an interim regulation about middle housing.
00:23:54
Speaker
So let me just um clarify, middle housing is anything basically between a single home, single family home and mid-rise apartment. So Duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, townhomes, stacked flats and courtyard apartments. So those are the six types of middle housing currently that you know the city council has decided will be allowed on Mercer Island.
00:24:19
Speaker
And there's interim regulations in place um since March. February and March of this year. um And that's because, you know, there are these deadlines and from the state. And if you don't meet the deadlines, you know, the um we can actually lose our city authority over how this will roll out, you know, on Mercer Island.
00:24:39
Speaker
So we want to make sure that, you know, the state regulations don't supersede our city authority over this matter. And um so, yeah, so we're, as we go into 2026, know,
00:24:52
Speaker
We need to um try to get those interim regulations to become permanent regulations. And the city council will provide opportunities for community input and also further analysis.
00:25:05
Speaker
And so this is um where I would love to see, you know, again, the community engagement, because this is a topic that's going to you know, affect Mercer Island, right? So I do definitely encourage people to to be engaged.
00:25:19
Speaker
But, you essentially, i would love to see concentration of the new housing requirements from the state at our town center. I think it makes the most sense for our community.
00:25:30
Speaker
You know, this is a state mandate. Unfortunately, it's like a one size fits all for you you know, tier two cities, which are essentially um cities with a population between 25,000 and 75,000. And we're just a bit above 25,000, like, you know, just maybe 300 households more. So, you know, we're considered a tier two city.
00:25:50
Speaker
And so that's why, you know, we we need to comply with these state mandates. And at the same time, You know, I've heard of um seniors on Mercer Island while I was campaigning and doorbelling who say they really don't need to live in a four or five thousand square foot home, but they would love to stay in our community and they can't find a home that fits their stage of life.
00:26:15
Speaker
And I've also heard of um you know young families who grew up on Mercer Island, went to our schools, they go off for college and they would love to come back and you know be part of this community with great schools, but they can't afford $2 million dollars starter home. you know So I think you know even despite this being a state mandate that's being pushed on us, this we can leverage this into an opportunity for our community.
00:26:41
Speaker
And also you know with more housing options and town center that can boost our local businesses. You know, I've um as a small business owner myself, um you know, I understand the challenges of being a business owner.
00:26:55
Speaker
I've talked to many business owners in our town center um and they say, you know, it's just not they don't get the foot traffic that they have maybe before the pandemic. um So I think, you know, having more housing options in our town center, that um is can be a great opportunity for us to address real needs, you know, for residents on Mercer Island. And how about like the police you and the teachers who, you know, who work in our community, right?
00:27:23
Speaker
um You know, a lot of them have to commute to to get to work, right? So, you know, what kind of community do we no want to build on Mercer Island? Yeah, so I would love to see, you know, concentration of more housing options.
00:27:36
Speaker
in our town center. um And yeah, and and really, you know, leverage that into into an opportunity. How about, what's your vision sort of out outside of town center?
00:27:47
Speaker
um You know, in, you know, what are traditionally single family neighborhoods now You know, if you had a magic wand, what would be the impact of these regulations in those types of neighborhoods?
00:27:58
Speaker
you know Again, interim regulations currently allow um for middle housing in most of our island. That's that's um that's the state mandate. And you know we're currently complied with that through the interim regulations.
00:28:11
Speaker
But you know people say, oh, we don't want four plexes next door or whatever. But it doesn't really pencil out because um to have a four plex that's four units, you would need to have one of those units units be affordable.
00:28:29
Speaker
And that's, um you know, someone's going to buy that unit, they will have like a medium area income of 80%. So that's like a four person household with $121,000. know, they rent that unit,
00:28:40
Speaker
or you know they rent that unit is 60% of the area meet medium income. that That's like 94,000 for a four person household. I think it will be difficult to actually have those four plexes. It's not gonna start popping up all over our neighborhoods.
00:28:59
Speaker
It's just that, you know, these state mandates, we have to allow them, but we don't have to encourage it or um hasten, you know, accelerate It's just they just have to be allowed so that we're in compliance because, you know, if we're not in compliance.
00:29:18
Speaker
again, like I said, you know, the state regulations can supersede our city authority. So um in fact, I was looking more into this and looking at the actual, you know, House Bill 1110, and it says in any city subject to Section 3, and Section 3 is essentially, you know, we're a Tier 2 city with a population between 25,000 and So in any city subject to Section 3 of this Act that has not passed ordinances, regulations, or other official controls within the timeframes provided under Section 3 of this Act, the model ordinance supersedes, preempts, and invalidates local development regulations until the city takes all actions necessary to implement Section 3 of this Act.
00:30:12
Speaker
So, you know, as um so they come down and, you know, they're pretty top heavy. Right. They have, you know, a state model ordinance that if they think that we're not complying or not following the the law, you know, this is not something that we want on Mercer Island. Right. Right.
00:30:29
Speaker
But again, like like I said, it's just that it has to be allowed. It doesn't mean that it needs to be mandated to happen. It just needs to be allowed. And, you know, having like a fourplex with four units, again, one with them one of them, unless you're like within a quarter mile of the sound transit, you know, if you're beyond that quarter of mile of the town sound transit, one of those units have to be affordable.
00:30:52
Speaker
So I think it's really difficult because of the high, um you know, just it's so it's so expensive, right, on Mercer Island. The properties are so expensive. I don't think it would pencil out, you know, for developers to even consider doing this.
00:31:07
Speaker
um But again, is we just have to allow it in our code, but we don't have to. enforce it. We don't have to accelerate it. We don't have to encourage it. So, you know, i I think I would focus on concentrating it at at the town center, um you know, have the community engagement in 2026 when we try to turn this into a more permanent regulation.
00:31:30
Speaker
um And again, there's timelines for all this, right? and And also, you know, I would want to work with our state legislators, um with King County, with our neighboring cities,
00:31:43
Speaker
to collaborate and worked and also just let them advocate for Mercer Island values. You know we're an island. We're not like Eastside. We're not like Bellevue. We're not like Issaquah. We have just limited geography.
00:31:56
Speaker
And um just to just just to make sure that we advocate, I advocate, you know, for Mercer Island, that's that's um something I can bring to to the table as I think I'm the best candidate to do that.
00:32:10
Speaker
That's something that I would love to do for Mercer Island because I live here, this is my community, and I wanna make sure that people are happy with our community. you know as a On the city council, we're representing the views of our constituents.
00:32:23
Speaker
So I love to see community engagement, ah for these topics that coming up for our island. And I want to hear you know from everybody that want to talk to me ah about these issues and um how we can you know still preserve like the small town feel of Mercer Island, but comply with the state mandates and also as an opportunity to address real needs on the island for this Mercer Island seniors who want to downsize, for young families who want to return to the island.
00:32:53
Speaker
you know, for the the people who work in our community to be able to live in a community where they service us.
Community Vision and Support Programs
00:33:00
Speaker
I appreciate that. And I i think, you know, in the couple of minutes we have left here, you know, as we kind of zoom out, what what is your kind of five to 10 year vision for Mercer Island? What would you like to see improved or what would you like to see stay the same?
00:33:13
Speaker
Oh, yeah. I mean, the safety of our community is very important. um You know, this, this feeling of like, wow, you know, those beautiful parks and trees that we have in our neighborhood. It's so beautiful.
00:33:24
Speaker
Yeah, there's the schools, you know, having great school district and supporting, you know, our, our youth and seniors, you know, so, so my you know vision, as I mentioned, was the Mercer Island where Children are thriving, families flourishing, and seniors can age gracefully here, right here in our community.
00:33:40
Speaker
And, um you know, another important program that I want to just get out there and mention again um is MI Youth and Family Services. It is so important to our community. um You know, it provides mental health counselors for our public schools, um senior programs, food and rent assistance for Islanders.
00:34:00
Speaker
um So that's a program that I am so just so proud to have in our community. um In fact, my husband, you know, serves on the board of Youth and Family Services um Foundation.
00:34:11
Speaker
And, um you know, every year they have a breakfast fundraiser in the early spring. And I've been a table captain, you know, for the last two years. um and also plan to be, my husband already tapped me to to be the one to recruit the um the people at our table. So, um and this is just such an important important program for us.
00:34:31
Speaker
We do have some challenges with our budget coming up. um So currently, you know, our general fund and operating revenue is helping to um bridge that gap for the Youth and Family me Services Program.
00:34:43
Speaker
And this is a program that we need to have you know, for decades. It's just too important to to Mercer Island and our community. It serves so many people and it's again, you know, with my family medicine background. taking care of, you know, the youth, the seniors, um the vulnerable in our community.
00:35:02
Speaker
um So that is something that, you know, I want people to just think about, you know, donating to um as ah as a program and something that just helps so many in our community.
00:35:13
Speaker
Yeah. And, you know, our town center, our general fund, you know, 20% of it comes from sales tax, 36 from property tax, you know, and We're not like Bellevue. We're not like, you know, other large cities.
00:35:25
Speaker
um We just have our town center. So i really, really want to, um again, like, ah you mentioned this before, like, I want to bring in people from the community. I would love to form something like the Blue Ribbon Committee for different communities.
00:35:39
Speaker
issues on our island. And now I've talked to people who are interested in the town center, who are interested in utility infrastructure, you know, who are interested in our roads. And I love to see this community engagement.
00:35:51
Speaker
And I would love to form um something like a ah blue ribbon committee of our citizens, of people who live here and who have expertise, right? Decades of expertise in these different issues um and get your ideas, you know, for how we can have a you know,
00:36:08
Speaker
ah Vision for Mercer Island for the the next 10, 20 years. That's something that you know I'm all for is community engagement. i I want to talk to you. I want you to tell me, you know, what matters to you and and hear your ideas.
00:36:21
Speaker
um I mean, in fact, your ideas may be better than those of us on City Council, you know, because different people have different experiences and expertise. And that's something I feel that I can bring you know to our city is I'm someone who believes in collaborating, building consensus and bridging you know our community. And I want all of you you know to feel like you have a voice in shaping the future of Mercer Island.
00:36:45
Speaker
And yeah, let's let's build together you know ah welcoming, forward-thinking community that stays true to our vision of Mercer Island, you know because this is our home. We all live here and we love it here.
00:36:57
Speaker
So, yes, please come talk to me. I'm happy to to meet with anyone. Just um let me know your ideas. Well, listen, that's a great note to end on. I appreciate very much um your your reconsideration for joining me here.
Closing and Call to Action
00:37:11
Speaker
um Just just to kind of close out, where can people go to find more information about you and your candidacy? Oh, yeah, sure. So Julie for MICity.org is my website.
00:37:24
Speaker
um I'm also hosting another just event open to anyone who want to come to meet me. Actually, on Monday, I'll be at Barrels from three to five.
00:37:35
Speaker
And um also, I'm happy to to meet with anyone who contacts me and we can be at the local Starbucks. So i I can attest to that. Yeah, yeah you're you're very open with your time. So i appreciate that.
00:37:47
Speaker
Thank you, Ben. Thank you so much for your time. Well, thank you for being on. And I will be sure to put a ah link to your website in the show notes. And yeah, I wish you best of luck in your campaign, Julie. thanks for your time.