LOWER VALLEY – Snoqualmie Valley School District board president Kristy Sullivan last week announced that she will run for the Metropolitan King County Council District 3 seat soon to be vacated by Louise Miller, R-Woodinville. Miller, a moderate Republican, has been on the council for eight years and is choosing not to run again. Voters will select the new council member this fall.

Sullivan, an Ames Lake resident and moderate Democrat, has sat on the school board for five years. She currently works for Friends of Youth, an Eastside non-profit organization, as director of development.

Sullivan said she’d like to represent District 3, which includes Carnation, Duvall, Woodinville, Skykomish and part of Sammamish, to protect the environment and the quality of its residents’ lives.

“Decisions made by the County Council have a dramatic impact on our lives, on things that we take for granted until there’s a crisis,” she said. “Land use, water, transportation, human services, parks and recreation make our community more or less livable. This community is the gateway to the Cascades, the Alpine Lakes wilderness and a river whose tributaries produce more wild, adult coho salmon than the entire state of Oregon.

“I’ve paid attention to county issues and appreciated Louise Miller’s courage in taking some tough votes to create a regional, multimodal transportation system, and restore salmon habitat and support limits to growth,” Sullivan added. “I care too much about our beautiful environment to see these important decisions compromised by candidates with less-than-mediocre voting records on conservation issues. With the Snoqualmie River now listed as endangered, we face a critical juncture. We must preserve and enhance what we have now, or lose valuable resources forever.”

The new candidate explained that the County Council’s efforts in finding solutions to transportation problems will impact generations to come. And decisive action should be taken sooner rather than later, she said, because the next four years are critical in shaping the quality of life for county residents.

Sullivan has a background in education, public relations and has been involved in many school and Valley committees. She was the founding president of the Snoqualmie Valley Schools Foundation, and currently serves as secretary of the Snoqualmie Valley Community Network Board. She holds a master’s degree in education, guidance and counseling from City University in Seattle, and a bachelor’s degree in social sciences from Antioch University.

Sullivan is a Washington native and has lived in the area since 1986. She has two children, Kevin, 20, a Bellevue Community College student, and Haley, 15, a Mount Si High School student.

“I come from a family where public service is a way of life,” Sullivan said. “I would bring heart, mind and spirit to the important decisions that impact our future.

“My parents, Hal and Helen Hoover, taught me the importance of community, of neighborhoods and of public service,” she continued. “This is a time of enormous growth and change in our beloved country. With this change comes challenges. I’m ready for these challenges and this race captures my passion and allows me to utilize my talents to make a positive impact.” The Hoovers are retired public educators. Sullivan’s father was on the Poulsbo City Council for many years and served as mayor, and her mother was on the North Kitsap School Board.

Sullivan joins two other notable candidates who are aiming to take Miller’s place: state Rep. Kathy Lambert of Redmond and Sen. Bill Finkbeiner of Kirkland – both Republicans. Miller has endorsed Finkbeiner, the senior Republican in her district.

The primary election for the County Council seat is likely to take place in August, depending on whether the Legislature makes changes to the primary election system.