Michelle Hilhorst
Michelle Hilhorst touts her years of community involvement and volunteer experience as the biggest reasons why she should be on the Bellevue City Council.
“I’m running because I have a long history of community experience and advocacy,” she said. “I’ve worked on the comprehensive plan, the blueprint for the city’s future, and I want to help implement it.”
Hilhorst is competing against Vandana Slatter for council position 5.
Part of the future includes maintaining a high level of public safety. Should she win, Hilhorst said priority number one would be to get work moving on a downtown fire station.
“One of the basic functions of city government is to provide for public safety,” she said. “And the lack of a downtown fire station is a problem. I want to make that front of the line in 2016.”
She also said that with rising crime rates, Bellevue must make sure it allocates enough resources for law enforcement.
Affordable housing is another issue Hilhorst wants to tackle, as she feels people on the lower socio-economic end of finances can’t afford to make Bellevue their home.
“We have major growth upcoming,” she said. “I want to be sure we have housing for everyone without destroying our neighborhoods.”
She draws the biggest difference between herself and her opponent in their civic experience. Hilhorst said she has a track record of being committed to the city of Bellevue that Slatter lacks.
“I’ve been working as a community advocate for more than a decade,” she said. “I think it’s just logical for me to serve at the next level.”The election is Nov. 3.
Just the facts:
Age: 46
Profession: Information technology
Family: Married, three children, 11, 9, 7.
Neighborhood: Newport Hills
Political/community experience: Chair of Bellevue Planning Commission, president of Newport Hills Community Club, served on board of directors for Friends of Newcastle Library.
Website: www.michelle4bellevue.com
Vandana Slatter
Vandana Slatter wants a fresh look on the Bellevue City Council.
She believes the council lacks a sense of diversity when it comes to different viewpoints.
“I’m running because many neighborhoods and communities do not feel represented,” she said. “We are a great city and we have a achieved a lot, but there needs to be a broader set of views.”
Slatter is competing against Michelle Hilhorst for council position 5.
Slatter, a new drug “problem solver” at a pharmaceutical company, believes her business experience will provide a new perspective on the council.
“There are some other views which need to be on the council, and we are hearing the same sort of voices,” she said. “As the city has grown, maybe [the council] should grow as well.”
She has a doctorate in pharmacology and a masters in public administration through the University of Washington. The Canadian-born Slatter thinks “ethnic” and foreign-born residents need more input.
Making sure the citizens and different neighborhoods are represented is key to Slatter’s platform, but keeping Bellevue a place where innovative companies want to do business is vitally important as well, she said.
“We’ve got to have a regional vision,” she said. “It was an issue brought up when Expedia left Bellevue. How do we attract and retain innovation? That is something we need to look into.”
While Slatter respects her opponent’s experience on the planning commission, she believes her different way of looking at city issues will be valuable.
“Those perspectives are great and I respect those perspectives,” she said. “But they are represented very well on the city council. We need fresh ideas.”
The election is Nov. 3.
Just the facts:
Age: 50
Profession: Senior regional medical liaison
Family: Married, one son.
Neighborhood: Bridle Trails
Political/community experience: Overlake Hospital Foundation trustee, helped establish Lake Hills Greenbelt urban farm, Washington State Board of Pharmacy.
Website: www.vandanaslatter.com
Ryan Murray: 425-453-4602; rmurray@bellevuereporter.com
