Realpolitiks Bellevue

CITY COUNCIL

Looks like there could be a three-way race for the Bellevue City Council seat that was left open when Phil Noble died of complications from a blood disorder last month.

Bellevue Planning Commissioner Jennifer Robertson, a land-use attorney, has announced that she will run for the position. Small-business owner Betina Finley, chair of the Bellevue Arts Commission, has also announced that she will join the race.

Finally, one source has told me that councilmember Michael Creighton could run for the spot. I’m waiting for Creighton to confirm this. The council appointed him to take Noble’s seat on an interim basis until the election in November.

Creighton served two terms on Bellevue’s city council in the past. He was also on the Bellevue School Board for eight years, and was its president for two.

It appears Finley is taking a rather Obama-like approach to campaigning, utilizing the web and some of the most popular social-networking sites to make herself known. She has a website, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account all related to her campaign.

Robertson, who only has a Facebook page as far as I can tell, received an endorsement from the Bellevue Firefighters Local 1604 this week.

There will be no primary for this race, so it’s winner-take-all between whomever files between Aug. 19-29.

KC EXECUTIVE

Cynara Lilly, a campaign spokesperson for Ross Hunter, tells me that Hunter has received an endorsement from the Bellevue Chamber’s political wing, the Eastside Business Alliance. They’re supposedly working on a joint press release that will come out tomorrow.

Hunter, a state representative from Medina, has experienced a fundraising surge since the legislative session ended in Olympia. The executive candidate has brought in around $250,000 for his campaign since late April.

County Council member Larry Phillips leads all candidates in fundraising with $404,000 in overall contributions, although he had spent around half of that money as of early July.

Phillips had $187,728 left for the Aug. 18 primary as of June 7, while Hunter was second among all candidates with $136,000 remaining.