Candidate Profile: Ruth Lipscomb, Bellevue City Council, Pos. 4

BELLEVUE, WA — General election ballots have made their way to mailboxes across King County, as the 2021 election season enters its final stretch heading into Nov. 2. Dozens of key races are in play this year, including contests for King County Executive, four positions on the Metropolitan King County Council and several local city council races.

As voters prepare to fill out their choices, Patch asked candidates to answer questions about their campaigns and will be publishing candidate profiles leading up to Election Day.

Ruth Lipscomb, a retired Microsoft software design engineer, is running for the Position 4 seat on the Bellevue City Council.

Candidate

Ruth Lipscomb

Age (as of Election Day)

59

Position Sought

Bellevue City Council Position 4

Party Affiliation

Democrat

Family

Married 32 years to husband Terry. Adult daughter.

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government?

No

Education

Oregon State University, BS Computer Science

Occupation

Retired. Software design engineer at Microsoft 1983-94.

Previous or Current Elected or Appointed Office

none

Campaign website

www.RuthForBellevue.org

Why are you seeking elective office?

I believe we have an incredible opportunity to lead Bellevue into the future. We can get housing prices back under control. We can help seniors who want to stay in their neighborhoods have options for downsizing. We can get our homeless community into shelter and into the services that will get them back on their feet. We can do a better job on public safety, keeping everyone safe while increasing transparency and trust. I’m running for Bellevue City Council because our city has the talent to solve big problems when we elect the right leaders.

The single most pressing issue facing our (board, district, etc.) is _______, and this is what I intend to do about it.

I believe our most pressing problem is housing affordability. Anyone who works in Bellevue, who grows up in Bellevue, or who has worked here and retired, should be able to afford to live in the city. Bellevue has the highest rents in the state (over $2,000 for a one-bedroom apartment) and some of the highest home prices (median price is $1.3M.) Many of our workers endure long commutes because they can’t afford to live close to their jobs. We have seniors who feel stuck because they’d like to downsize but don’t have any options in their neighborhoods.

I will work to add more shapes and sizes of housing, for people of all income levels, for both renters and first-time homebuyers, throughout our community. To do that we will need to protect the suburban scale and tree canopy of our current neighborhoods while also lightly increasing density through backyard cottages and small-scale duplexes, so that we have houses at more price points and more units overall. I want everyone in our area to have the same opportunity that I have had, to make Bellevue their home.

What are the critical differences between you and the other candidates seeking this post?

I’m ready to bring a fresh and energetic style of leadership to the Bellevue City Council – one that is transparent and responsive to our changing reality. I will be open in all my decision-making, listening to every resident who has an idea, never beholden to any special interests, and never saying one thing and doing another. I will lead with equity always in the forefront and I won’t be afraid to speak truth to power. I believe I can provide the strong leadership, problem-solving skills, and work ethic that Bellevue needs right now.

What are some of your priorities for a post-pandemic recovery?

Those who were economically insecure before the pandemic had a much harder time riding it out. Many essential workers didn’t have the option to stay home and thus had to put their health at risk by going back to work. Many more lost their jobs and even their businesses during the shutdowns. My belief is that it’s not enough to restore our neighbors to the economic position they were in before COVID; we need to give them more opportunity and economic stability for the future, so they are better able to handle future setbacks of any scale, from personal to global. Relief programs should be extended for as long as needed to stabilize these communities. The programs should at least include rental and mortgage assistance, micro- and small business loans and grants, food assistance, utility subsidies, educational supports, and employment assistance. I would work to make sure that the process to distribute aid through the city of Bellevue is equitable and accessible to all regardless of a recipient’s language, immigration status, or ability to navigate bureaucracy.

What would you do in office to strengthen preparedness and response efforts for extreme heat and wildfire smoke events?

Climate change is an existential risk to our society that we must address now. Bellevue needs to have a strong climate action plan with leading-edge goals, stronger than what’s currently in the city’s Environmental Stewardship Plan. We will be experiencing more extreme heat and wildfire smoke events and the first necessity is community centers that can act as cooling centers and have the proper air filtration systems to be smoke shelters. We need to begin planning (and budgeting) for these to be yearly events, so we are well prepared.

As we know, areas of the city with the lowest tree canopy and green spaces had the highest temperatures this summer, creating worse health outcomes for their residents. Public data shows that the lower-income areas of our city have less tree canopy and fewer parks, so I will push to remedy that through adding new parks in targeted areas. The city needs to make sure our tree canopy is healthy and expanding, starting with strong protection of existing trees. The city needs an analysis of the areas with the lowest tree cover so we can incentivize planting through programs like offering free trees and planting them on both public and private property. We should include a wide range of native species so that we are enhancing wildlife habitat as well as adding cooling shade. Bellevue should have an Urban Forestry Plan that sets the steps for us to reach our ambitious tree canopy goals of 40% cover by 2050.

If you are a challenger, in what way has the current board or officeholder failed the community (or district or constituency)

I am proud of my campaign’s many volunteers and grassroots support from individuals in our community. There are no special interests spending huge sums on my behalf. My opponent has received over $165,000 in outside spending by big business interests, in addition to their many direct contributions to his campaign. Together they are spending more than double what my campaign will raise. I don’t believe Bellevue City Council positions should be for sale to the highest bidder.

How do you think local officials performed in responding to the coronavirus? What if anything would you have done differently?

I believe that the city was effective in distributing federal and state aid to local agencies who then made it available to residents.

Describe the other issues that define your campaign platform.

Housing affordability is my top issue, described earlier. Another important issue is transparency and accountability. I would like Bellevue to adopt an open data policy so that residents truly have a window into the city’s operations, successes, and areas for improvement. I would invite community input to set performance goals with rigorous measurement and reporting for each city department. These goals should be aligned with the city’s larger vision statement and plans and should especially be applied to track the city’s progress on addressing racial inequity and meeting its greenhouse gas emissions targets. Another priority will be to adopt a holistic approach to public safety, I believe that there are gaps in our current system and that Bellevue should take advantage of federal and state funding to expand the options available for 911 response, for instance providing 24/7 mental health crisis response teams. I would also like the city to explore adding community courts to divert low-level crimes away from the criminal justice system.

What accomplishments in your past would you cite as evidence you can handle this job?

One of the traits that led me to a career in engineering is my analytical mindset. I am endlessly curious. I dive into data, read all the background information I can find, look for patterns, and try to find leverage points where relatively small amounts of effort can lead to big impacts. Since leaving the technology field, I have worked in many volunteer situations where there is a need for creative problem-solving and consensus decision-making. I thrive working in groups and believe in bringing more voices together for stronger solutions. I’ve been in leadership positions on 7 nonprofit boards over the past 25 years and served on each board for an average of 8 years. I am a diligent worker, detail-oriented, and thorough.

The best advice ever shared with me was:

Lead with your values. Be kind and brave.

What else would you like voters to know about yourself and your positions?

I invite anyone with ideas, questions, or concerns to contact me at info@ruthforbellevue.org. I answer every email myself and look forward to hearing from you. Thank you.