Bellevue Councilman Degginger Won't Seek Re-election; Council Members Chelminiak and Balducci Draw Challengers

Bellevue City Councilman Grant Degginger has decided not to file for re-election, he announced Friday.

His leaving the race throws the race open. Two people filed for his seat this morning, Aaron Laing, who had announced a run for City Council earlier this year but did not say which council position he would pursue, and John Stokes.

Degginger, who has been on the council since 1999 and has served as the city's mayor, said in the statement released Friday that it was a good time to reassess his family, work and service responsibilities.

"Balancing family, a busy law practice and city council responsibilities has been challenging but it has been a labor of love," he said. "This is a good time to re-balance those priorities."

Degginger also criticized the recent tone at council meetings, which have been contentious, saying that "the Council seems to have lost its way.

"The collegiality, creative problem-solving and compromise that had allowed us to accomplish so much seems to have disappeared. This community expects councilmembers to lead by example. Instead of tolerating or even worse by promoting harsh rhetoric in the community, councilmembers need to take responsibility not only for their own behavior but for their surrogates in the community. The voters should hold them accountable for doing so."

Recent council meetings have seen residents and fellow council members questioning each others' motivations and alliances, particularly when it comes to the issue of the possible East Link route of Sound Transit's light rail line.

Degginger and fellow council member Claudia Balducci were included--and cleared--in the city's recent ethics probe, which was sparked by questions raised about Councilman Kevin Wallace's possible conflicts of interest in the East Link line by a Seattle Times article.

The Times article raised questions about Wallace's company's involvement with another company that would have benefited from improvements along the BNSF line.

After questions were raised about Wallace, residents also asked the council to look at whether Degginger benefited from his law firm's representation of Sound Transit in court and whether Balducci was compromised by her sitting on the Sound Transit board, as the city of Bellevue's representative.

The ethics probe cleared Degginger and Balducci, and a final report on Wallace's possible conflicts is pending.

Councilman John Chelminiak also has drawn a challenger, Michelle Hilhorst. Hilhorst filed her paperwork with the Public Disclosure Commission on June 1.

Balducci, who is also up for election this year, will face Patti Mann, who has been raising money for a run at City Council since May, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.

Bellevue City Council

Position 1

• Aaron Laing
• John Stokes

Position 3

• John Chelminiak
• Michelle Hilhorst

Position 5

• Claudia Balducci
• Patti Mann

Position 7

• Jennifer Robertson

Bellevue School District

Director District 1

• Betsy Johnson
• Steve McConnell

Director District 2

• Christine Chew

Director District 4

• Michael F. Murphy

Metropolitan King County Council

District 6

• Patsy Bonincontri
• John Creighton
• Jane Hague
• Richard E. Mitchell