Vote for ethical, bold leadership in Redmond, WA

Redmond Neighbors:
This autumn, you have the opportunity to elect leaders who will prioritize combating the climate crisis, affordability crisis, and housing crisis. Your vote is your voice and you have until Tuesday, November 5th at 8 PM to make it count.
I’m running for Position #1 on Redmond’s City Council because I believe our community deserves leaders that will put the concerns of Redmond’s people and our planet first. I will be a Councilmember who is invested in the future of this city. From talking to residents by knocking on over 5,000 doors, to registering new voters and engaging community members who are often left out, I’ve gotten to hear directly from many of you during this campaign about what matters to you.
One common concern I hear at the doors is that our elected officials are “bought by developers,” and therefore care about business interests and winning elections over the needs and voices of the people who live and work here. This concern is valid, especially for some of our councilmembers, namely my opponent, Hank Myers.
I decided at the outset of my candidacy that I would run a grassroots campaign. I do not accept contributions from corporations and developers. I want to focus on the needs of Redmond’s people and avoid having conflicts of interest if I am elected. Because my campaign is people-powered, voters can be assured that I value transparency and will act on their concerns, and I’ll owe business interests nothing when they approach the City Council with a request.
It’s reasonable to expect ethical, principled leadership from our elected officials, including at the local level. It’s what we deserve. Unfortunately, my opponent in this race, Hank Myers, has a history of taking money from developers and putting their interests above the public interest.
During this election year, Myers voted in support of developer proposals whom he took money from: Fred Proctor, who gave Myers $400 and Sidd Jha, who gave the $1,000 maximum donation and was recently involved in a legal case of revenge porn and abuse of his ex-girlfriend.
Jha’s proposal failed two years ago and once again does not meet the majority of planning requirements, but Myers voted yes anyway. The proposal passed, thus threatening to create a dangerous precedent where developers can disregard public transparency.
The Nelson family of Nelson Legacy Group LLC donated $5,500 to Myers this year. The Nelson Legacy Group owns a shopping center slated for redevelopment and road extension process that the city council will eventually vote on to determine the source of funding.
The Nelson family donated over $31,000 to Redmond candidates this year alone, primarily to incumbents. Other candidates they’ve donated to include Seattle City Council candidate Egan Orion, SafeSeattle-backed Ari Hoffman, and Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob McKenna. CEO Tom Markl has also donated to the King County Republican Central Committee.
They weren’t the only developers to donate to Myers’ campaign. In fact, a look at his PDC reports shows a whopping 75% of contributions (over $11,000!) comes from developers. One third of his donations, $5,500, are from the Nelson Legacy Group alone.
Not to mention, Amazon has put money into Myers’ campaign through the Eastside Business Alliance PAC. Amazon is the top donor for Eastside Business Alliance in this election, investing $20,000 into Eastside elections. Myers has received $1,000 from EBA as well as ads supporting EBA-endorsed Redmond candidates.
Our city certainly needs a productive working relationship with developers and businesses so we can meet our housing, affordability, and job needs. But our city council can’t have a healthy relationship with business interests in Redmond if our councilmembers owe their positions on the council to those very same business interests. We need councilmembers who will ask tough questions, carefully scrutinize proposals for new buildings and infrastructure, and insist on fair agreements that address urgent needs like energy efficiency, Americans With Disabilities Act compliance, and affordability.
Our grassroots campaign consists of over 200 individual donors, with $1,235 coming from small donations ranging from $5-$25, and an average donation of $119. My team has raised over $35,000 without a penny from corporations or developers. Forty-three of my donors are Redmond residents, which is three times the number of Redmond residents who donated to Myers. I think my campaign is demonstrating what is possible with people power.
Not only does Myers prioritize his relationships with developers over the needs of Redmond’s people, he has dishonestly claimed on a number of occasions that he isn’t a partisan. Yet, he has been endorsed by the King County Republicans and conservative pundits, has taken money from Republican strategists and politicians (including five-time losing candidate Dino Rossi), and he once ran against Cyrus Habib as a Republican for the Washington State Legislature, losing overwhelmingly.
That’s not the only respect in which Myers is out of touch with the people of Redmond.
On issues like climate justice, Myers has stood in the way of action. He opposes investing in solutions to accelerate our transition to a clean energy economy that does not pollute our air, water, and soil — solutions like light rail, which our community has voted for.
Myers has disingenuously claimed to be “the environmentalist” on city council and hosted an environmentally-themed event in September. But at that event, he admitted: “I’m not interested in saving the environment, I’m interested in saving my wallet.”
I value collaboration, whereas Myers is known for casting no votes and for disrespecting the roles and work of staff. Despite spending twelve years on council, Myers still doesn’t seem to understand the function of the city’s Planning Commission.
I value inclusion. I have intentionally hired a diverse campaign team and I have encouraged people of color to join boards and commissions. It’s not enough to talk about diversity; you have to practice what you preach. Sadly, Myers doesn’t. He’s all talk and no action.
What I bring is a new vision of ethics, accountability, and a focus on people over profit, traits Myers has not exhibited in his twelve years on the Council. The time for new, honest, hardworking, collaborative leadership who will fight for climate justice, affordable housing and clean, efficient transportation is now. I ask for your vote as a people-oriented candidate for the Redmond City Council. Please vote by 8 PM on Tuesday, November 5th.
Varisha Khan
City Council, Position 1 Candidate
Redmond, WA
