October 2022: Happy Halloween!
Dear Friend,
This October set a full community table for us in our district between Yom Kippur, Diwali, Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, just to name a few! In whichever way October comes to you, I hope you are making great memories with family and community throughout. As for our team, we have had quite a full month of engaging our District 3 neighbors as well! Here are just a few highlights:
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Our survey just wrapped up with over 2,500 thoughtful responses. Stay tuned for a snapshot of the results soon that will impact our future plans!
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We held three King County Budget Town Halls to hear questions, concerns or requests from residents throughout King County -- more here!
- 40 residents, and 80 more online joined our Sammamish Town Hall with KC environmental expert, Director True, and Sammamish Police Seargent Elias.
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Over 200 joined our Assessments and Property Tax virtual Town Hall with KC Assessor John Wilson and Budget Director Dwight Dively. More here!
As always, whether through reading our emails or conversing with me over email, phone or zoom, or by meeting with me in person, your participation means a great deal to me. Thank you for helping to build great communities for all!
All the best,
A Time for Celebration and Reflection
 October began with a time for reflection for our Jewish community members with the High Holy Day of Yom Kippur, which calls us to atonement, repentance and forgiveness. Then Diwali came to us on October 10th, marking one of the most important religious celebrations for the Hindu and Sikh communities, celebrating the victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil! This is followed by Halloween - a much-anticipated, fun filled community event that kiddos everywhere look forward to all year. And, finally, Dia de los Muertos is a joyful Mexican cultural celebration honoring those who have passed away with friends and family gatherings, special food and alters with photos and remembrances of loved ones.
Bolt Creek and Loch Katrine Fires
The recent Bolt Creek and Loch Katrine Fires were dangerous and scary, both for the residents in the immediate vicinity of the fires, and for those of us exposed to unprecedented levels of smoke throughout the region. While the fires are significantly dampened, the concern about subsequent landslides on Hwy 2 is just beginning and is expected to be a significant issue for the season because of the unstable soil on the surrounding hills which will then be impacted by the coming rain and snow.
Last week, we emailed a status update and shared how we can all support our community members in need throughout this time of potential Hwy 2 closures. The Office of Emergency Management anticipates more closures that usual, so visit their website for more information and to stay up to date.
If you are seeking resources during these times of need, you can find those here. If you would like to help those in need by stocking their food bank or contributing financially so others can stock items for you, please visit the Emergency Feeding Program here.
It’s Budget Time for the Biennium!
On September 27th the King County Executive transmitted the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget to the King County Council for review, input and final approval. The Council looks specifically at the best investment possible of the General Fund, which constitutes $2 billion of the total $15.8 billion budget transmittal. We have been deeply engaged in this conversation since then as to the investment in our infrastructure and services for King County overall, as well as what is in the best interest of each of the nine districts that we represent.
To learn more, click here to watch a video that explains the King County budget! Your input is very important and as such we’ve held three separate KC Budget Town Halls and informative one-page deeper dives on the environment, public safety, housing, and behavioral health. For more information on our budget process, click here.
Out in the Community!
(Left) CM Perry at the Tasveer Film Festival launch party with Executive Director Rita Meher. Check out the Tasveer Festival from Nov 3rd-20th, 2022! (Right) CM Perry at Remlinger Farms for the fourth annual Orca Days hosted by King Conservation District.
Attending the annual gala for NAMI-Eastside, an organization in Redmond leading efforts to focus on behavioral health for all in our community.
Still Hard at Work in Council!
The Council has been staying busy in our Full Council Meetings and Committees. Some of the initiatives that we have been working on are:
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2022 Recovery Champion Award – Brad Finegood: The Recovery Champion Award was presented to Brad Finegood, a Behavioral Health Strategic Advisor with KC Public Health, on October 4th. The legislation was sponsored by CM Reagan Dunn and I was proud to have had the opportunity to be a co-sponsor.
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Indigenous Peoples' Day: October 10th brought King County’s recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, honoring the culture, heritage, traditions, and significant contributions of our Indigenous community members, and sovereign nations here since time immemorial.
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National Disability Employment Awareness Month: This October is the nation’s 77th anniversary of National Disability Employment Awareness Month, and the Council joined in this recognition to celebrate the many contributions of people with disabilities and recognizing how our community members who are living with disabilities strengthen our workforce and our communities.
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Domestic Violence Awareness Month: We proclaimed the month of October 2022 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and congratulated the efforts of those who work to end domestic and gender-based violence in our communities as well as the brave people who are survivors and had the courage to get help.
If you are interested in tuning in to join us for a meeting to make a comment or just listen in, click on any of the links below:
Full Council Meeting; Budget and Fiscal Management; Committee of the Whole; Government Accountability and Oversight; Employment and Administration; Labor Policy; Law, Justice, Health, and Human Services; Local Services and Land Use; Transportation, Economy, and Environment
Meet Our New District 3 Intern!
Our District 3 team just got bigger! Gisele Fox joined our team as our Data and Communications intern and will work to support District 3 residents through data analysis, social media and other direct and indirect communications with our community members. Gisele is a senior in the Informatics major at the University of Washington and is excited to learn more about the use of data in the public sector. In free time you can usually find Gisele caring for their houseplants, biking around Seattle, and knitting fun sweaters!
Join us in giving a warm welcome to Gisele! Also, if you’d like to stay connected with any of your other District 3 staff, including Chief of Staff Libby Hollingshead, Policy Analyst Rebecca Mendelsohn, Communications and Community Engagement Manager Osman Salahuddin, and Legislative Assistant Robby Paige, you can learn more about them here.
Sammamish City Spotlight!
Check out where the spotlight is shining on a Sammamish business, non-profit, and civic engagement opportunity this month! Take a look at what they bring to each of us when you get a chance – and remember to Go Local!
Mommy's Kitchen is one of the newest and most delicious North-Indian homestyle restaurants in Sammamish! Their name says it all: their head culinary experts are Super Moms, who have a combined Cooking Experience of over 65 years, with a team that operated different successful restaurants for last 20 years. Place an order online at mommyskitchenonline.altheasuite.com or give them a call at 206-371-1427.
Eastside Friends of Seniors began serving the community in 1997 to support seniors in our community meet the challenges of aging by helping them to stay in their home for as long as they can. They assist adults ages 60+ who primarily live in Issaquah and Sammamish. They have a silent auction coming up on November 10th, and you can learn more here. If you’d like to get involved with their work or learn more information, email them at info@eastsidefriendsofseniors.org or give them a call at (425) 369-9120.
I am so excited to see all of the energy and excitement on the City of Sammamish City Council as they kick off their Planning Summit Series with several planning meetings to allow residents to help envision the future of Sammamish by 2044! Also, we hope you will consider getting involved and sharing your voice on one of the City of Sammamish’s commission - apply here to serve on a city board or commission by 12/16!
Stay Connected!
Please forward this email and invite others to sign up to receive email updates. Also, make sure that you follow our Facebook account and Twitter page to stay up-to-date on everything we are working on together!
Finally... a reminder that I’d love to grab a cup of coffee and talk. Just reach out to our team member Robby at Robby.paige@kingcounty.gov or at 206-477-1003 and Robby will set us up!
 Sarah Perry
King County Council
District 3
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