Politics & Government

Bellevue Councilman John Chelminiak Launches Re-Election Campaign

John Chelminiak, on the city council since 2004, kicks off campaign, announces website, Facebook and Twitter sites.

Bellevue City Councilman  John Chelminiak announced his campaign for re-election today (Friday, June 3). Chelminiak seeks his third term on the Bellevue City Council.

Chelminiak has been on the city council since 2004, according to the city, and served as the deputy mayor from 2006 to 2007.

Chelminiak's seat is one of four that are up for election in the fall.

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“The best is still ahead for Bellevue,” Chelminiak said in a prepared statement. “The past eight years, we have put in place solid plans to guide the city forward in a financially responsible and sustainable way. I want to see those plans become reality.” 

Chelminiak said it is important that Bellevue lead the way out of the recession and we can do that by continuing to invest in the right priorities.

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In his prepared statement, Chelminiak listed several priorities.

“As I look toward another four years on the Council, so much is needed. We need a steady hand to guide light rail through our city. We need courage to re-launch our city’s economic growth.” Chelminiak continued. “We need to keep our commitments to the voters on our parks levy projects. We need a conscience to guide our investments in human services that lift people up. And we need to protect the safety of our residents.”

Chelminiak's campaign website is at www.johnworksforyou.com. His Facebook page is  here at “Friends of John Chelminiak” and his Twitter is at “john4bellevue.”

Noting the controversy over light rail, Chelminiak said in his statement that "it is important to build it right, make sure our residents and workers can use it, and to make certain we maximize its use in downtown Bellevue and in the Bel Red corridor."

Chelminiak also supports negotiating an agreement with Sound Transit to make a downtown tunnel  a reality.

Among Chelminiak's civic positions, he has served on the board of the Vuecrest Homeowner’s Association, is a past chair and member of the O’Dea High School board of directors, and was a board member of Eastside Adult Day Services.  Currently he is a member of the Firefighters Pension Board, the Law Enforcement and Firefighters Health Board (LEOFF 1), the King County Committee to End Homelessness, the Puget Sound Economic Development District Board, and the Eastside Human Services Task Force. 

He and his wife, Lynn Semler, reside in Bellevue’s Vuecrest neighborhood near downtown. He has enjoyed a career in media, government, and public affairs. He currently is the owner of a small business specializing in public affairs and strategic communication. He also has been the chief of staff of the King and Snohomish County Councils, and he was a reporter and editor at KIRO radio for ten years.  Semler works for the Bellevue School District and also provides accounting and financial services for several Bellevue based businesses.  They have two children, including step-daughter Morgan, a student at the University of Washington, and Megan, who is completing 6th grade at Chinook Middle School.

Chelminiak was in the news last fall after he survived a bear attack near his family's vacation home near Lake Wenatchee.

City Council Race So Far

Chelminiak's seat is one of four that are up for election this year. Also up for election are council members Grant Degginger (Position 1), John Chelminiak (Position 3) Claudia Balducci (Position 5), and (Position 7). All have active campaigns for re-elections to their seats, according to the state's Public Disclosure Commission. Two others, Patricia L. Mann and Aaron M. Laing, also have opened campaigns for a city council seat, though they have not declared which seats they are running for.

Candidates declare when they file for election, though incumbents generally file for their own seats. Filing week in King County starts Monday June 6 at 8:30 a.m. for in-person filing and at 9:00 a.m. for online filing. Filing week ends Friday, June 10, at 4:30 p.m.

The city council positions are all city-wide positions.

City council members are paid $1,650 a month.

Contributions and Expenditures so far Details from PDC Name Position on Council Raised Spent Debt Details Aaron M. Laing
Undeclared $24,090.40 $5,219.81 $0.00 Details Patricia L. Mann
Undeclared $14,652.00 $1,255.57 $4,000.00 Details Grant S. Degginger
01 $20,716.22 $1,547.90 $0.00 Details John L. Chelminiak
03 $18,928.21 $1,100.34 $0.00 Details Claudia M. Balducci
05 $22,057.20 $2,227.88 $0.00 Details Jennifer S. Robertson
07 $50,059.29 $18,138.36 $0.00

-- Infobox information from the Washington Public Disclosure Commision


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