Only one can be elected in the race for Vashon’s Water District 19 board. The past year has been eventful as the county’s process to draft an updated Vashon Town Plan drew controversy over water usage and population density. Candidates running for Position 1, the board’s only open seat, submitted statements to The Beachcomber about why they believe they would be an asset to the agency.
Seth Zuckerman
I would bring a background in watershed restoration, conservation and environmental sciences, as well as experience serving on non-profit boards that have the public interest at heart. (One of those is Burn Design Lab, based here on Vashon.) I have a passion for finding creative solutions to natural resource challenges and an open mind to hear the concerns brought forward by colleagues, collaborators and the public at large.
The decisions we make about water in the next few years will shape the options that are available to future generations. We need to keep our demand on the island’s streams and aquifer within the limits that those systems can support. We must also manage our water so that its cost doesn’t become a barrier to the island’s affordability. Expanding the district’s capacity can be very costly, raising rates for all users, including those least able to bear those higher costs. Affordable housing is important; one of my priorities will be to ensure that the island remains affordable to those who are already here and whose resources would be stretched thin by higher water bills.
One key challenge for the district is to establish a good working relationship with the new general manager. Under the last one, the commissioners brought in a mediator last summer to discuss personnel issues. The district will function more effectively if labor relations are more harmonious.
A second challenge is climate change. Climatologists predict hotter, drier weather for our region, which will increase the demand for water during the peak summer season. At the same time, forecasts call for more variable precipitation. We have to be careful not to over-promise water to new customers when our supplies may actually decrease over the coming decades.
Finally, we must accommodate affordable housing sensibly. Addressing this need is crucial to the social health of the Vashon community, and District 19 is involved because much of the island’s proposed new affordable housing would be located within district boundaries. The district’s first commitment is to serve our existing customers within the constraints of our limited water supplies, while protecting our streams and aquifer — but water should not be used as a cudgel to halt development.
My wife and I first moved to Vashon in 2002 and were married here the following year. We returned here four years ago with our son and look forward to making this island our home for years to come. I ask for your vote this November to keep our water supply clean, safe, ample and affordable for the future.
Stephen Urban
I have been an island resident for over 50 years. Now retired, I worked for 40 years for The Boeing Company and was part of Boeing management for 35 years. During my final 10 years with the company, I was the director of quality for their military programs.
One of the reasons I progressed within management was my ability to understand complicated systems and processes, to work within strict budgetary and financial controls, to maintain superior quality standards and to provide excellent customer satisfaction.
I currently serve on the Vashon Senior Center board. I have had membership in the Vashon Sportsmen’s Club for 50 years. For many years I have been a working member of St. John Vianney’s Wood Crew, which provides free firewood to island families in need.
For 15 years, I was the president of the Piner Point Class B water system.
I believe that the strategies and processes used by Water District 19 are flawed and need to be overhauled from a fresh perspective.
I have been on the water share waiting list for 16 years. If the district processes in use cannot provide one simple water share to a longtime senior citizen resident, how can it be expected to resolve more complicated situations?
Water District 19 has had a longtime moratorium on even getting on the water share waiting list; how can the District develop realistic planning when it is doubtful they know how many water shares are already needed within the District?
Acknowledging there will be future water share demands due to the Community Service Area Plan, priority must be given to longtime and current island residents who need a water share.
If elected as commissioner, I pledge:
- To work to make strategy and process changes that will help prevent this shameful level of service from being experienced by others in need of water for their households or livelihood.
- To have an uncompromising commitment to water purity standards.
- To improve customer and community satisfaction.
I am an expert in strategic planning and process management having used these methodologies daily in my work career.
If elected I pledge to work to ensure the district’s strategic plan includes the identification of processes in use, the understanding of the process steps, the use of best practices, the establishment of performance standards, data-based actual performance and, where needed, process improvement consistent with regulatory, environmental and community development constraints, as well as customer feedback.
