Race in at large position 1 is only contested council race

Published 12:06 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008

By Dennis Box

The Courier-Herald

The City Council will have a new look after Nov. 8, with at least one new face and some shuffling.

City Councilman Neil Johnson, who holds the at-large 1 seat, will vacate the position either for the mayor's job or the sideline, depending on the results of the Sept. 20 primary and Nov. 8 general election.

Two candidates have filed for the at-large position and will be on the November ballot.

Deputy Mayor Dan Swatman has chosen to abandon his Ward 4 seat, which he has held since 1999, to run for that open at-large position.

Swatman ran for the at large seat in 2003, but lost to Councilman Mark Hamilton in his first bid for political office 61 to 38 percent.

He was appointed to the council in 1999 to fill a vacancy left by Eileen Ballard.

Swatman beat Julia Bowen for the seat in November of 1999 gaining 314 votes to Bowen's 252 or 55 to 44 percent.

He ran again for the Ward 4 seat in November of 2001 against write-in candidate Jim Short. Swatman won with 82 percent of the vote, 392-87.

His fellow council members have chosen him as the deputy mayor for two consecutive two-year terms.

Swatman was criticized during the 2003 campaign for allegedly not living in Ward 4, which he denied and provided documentation of his residency. The deputy mayor stated he still lives in Ward 4 and said the decision to run for the at-large position was based on his work across the city.

"As deputy mayor I do work all over the city," Swatman said. "So it seems like a natural fit."

Swatman said he believes the city exists to provide services to citizens.

"I'm there to work for the citizens needs," Swatman said. "Citizens have told us we need more parks and we've acquired more parks. We're building more sidewalks to make it safer for people to walk around and we've picked up the cost of streetlights across the city. We've done a lot with impact fees. When new development comes into the city they have an impact and they need to pay for it. Avoiding the 'South Hill junior' look is tricky."

Swatman is 40 years old and works in Renton as a system engineer for British Petroleum.

Running against Swatman is Melvain Donyes.

The 42-year-old Donyes moved to the Cedarview area in 1973 and graduated from White River High School.

He spent eight years in South Africa between 1988 and 1996 as a missionary and returned to Bonney Lake nearly three years ago.

This is Donyes' first attempt at elective office.

"I'm pro development, but not at the cost of quality of life," Donyes said. "I believe safe streets and good traffic flow are important. City government needs to be responsive and responsible to the citizens."

Donyes said he was prompted to run for the at-large seat after the council voted to condemn the land next to Allan Yorke Park owned by Schuur Brothers Construction.

"Condemnation should be used very rarely," Donyes said. "I would think the average citizen should be very concerned their personal property rights can be attacked. When we are talking about parks and ball fields it (condemnation) doesn't seem right. It may be legal, but it doesn't seem right."

Donyes said he hopes to decrease the tension between the council and the mayor's office.

"I'd like the opportunity to be a peace maker," Donyes said. "Everyone that serves, believes in the city, but I would like to see less consternation between the legislative and executive branch."

Donyes operates a home-based business, Workgroup Solutions, specializing in networking, small offices systems and computer repairs.

He works as an ordained minister at the Bethel Family Fellowship in Bonney Lake and a youth mentor at the church and for school in the area.

In other political news about Bonney Lake area candidates:

€ Linda Rowling is running for Pierce County charter review District 1, Position 1.

€ Tim Corliss will be on the ballot for Pierce County charter review District 1, Position 2.

€ David S Hyers is running for Port of Tacoma commissioner Position 2.

€ Andrew Longstreth has filed for Fire District 12 commissioner Position 4.

€ Rick Kuss is running for Fire District 22 commissioner Position 3.

€ Tim Corliss and Victor Proulx are both running for Fire District 22 commissioner Position 4.

Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@cmg-northwest2.go-vip.net/courierherald.