Bryce James
Candidate for
City Council - Position 1
Lake Forest Park, WA
🌿 A Voice for Our Community
Lake Forest Park isn’t just a city — it’s a vibrant community of neighbors who care.
Like you, I believe Lake Forest Park is more than just a city—it’s a place of natural beauty, and shared values, shaped by forested hillsides, wooded ravines, and salmon-bearing streams.
We’re homeowners and renters, artists and tradespeople, parents, grandparents, students, small business owners and neighbors who support one another. Our community is rich with talent. I believe in tapping into the experience of residents and community leaders to strengthen our city from within.
Through clear communication, transparency, and accountability, we can build a decision-making process that truly reflects our collective voice.
Diversity of experience and connection makes our city special—and worth protecting. But the pressures on our environment, budget, and quality of life are only growing. That’s why we need leadership dedicated to bringing community voices to help meet these challenges.
That’s why I’m running for City Council. It’s time to bring the wisdom of our residents into City Hall.
🌿 Why I’m Running
Environmental Stewardship, Social Awareness, Fiscal Responsibility, and Accountability
Prioritize Community Safety and Security - Police, Fire, and Medical
Insist on Evironmental Protection — creeks, parks, and green spaces. Establish a Citizens Environmental Quality Commission
Demand responsible Fiscal Stewardship. Establish a Citizens Budgeting Commission
Modify Sound Transit Stride-3 as presented by most Council Members. It’s a better design and better value, while: 1) saving 400 trees, 2) acres of private property and 3) preventing a mile long retaining wall.
Advance a Balanced Housing Policy
Support schools, seniors, and community well-being
My Goal is to tap into the Talent of our Community
🌿 Issues
Bringing Balance Back to Public Life
Over the past few decades, American politics has drifted from the center—leaving us more polarized, more anxious, and less trusting. Technology, media, and AI have only deepened these divides, reinforcing confirmation bias and making real dialogue more difficult. Here in Lake Forest Park, we’re feeling the effects. Our City Council has too often reflected a narrow set of views shaped by groupthink—not broad public input. The repeated failure of local ballot measures sends a clear signal: many residents feel unheard and unrepresented. It’s time to restore balance, foster open dialogue, and rebuild trust in the decisions that shape our daily lives—together.
🛡️ Community Safety and Security - A City’s Core Purpose
Public safety costs have dramatically increased. Police, fire, and emergency services are the most essential functions of local government. We must ensure they are well-resourced and fully funded to meet both current and future needs.
Our priority is Police, Fire, & Emergency Services. Sidewalks should be a basic expectation near schools and high-traffic pedestrian areas. Let’s prioritize safety where it matters most.
💰 Responsible Fiscal Policy - Real Oversight, Not Just Tax Hikes. Establish a Citizens Budgeting Committee
With a small commercial base, Lake Forest Park relies heavily on homeowners—and indirectly, renters—to fund city services. A Citizens Budgeting Commission is essential to align spending and taxation with community priorities. We have similar advisory bodies for planning, parks, and trees. Fiscal decisions should not be left to a small subset of the Council as they are today. Without public involvement, we risk voter distrust and repeated rejection of tax measures like in 2015 and 2021. At the end of 2024, our City appeared to lose over $1 million, with departments showing year-over-year budget increases.
The city continues to face rising costs from the unintended consequences of inflation and price increases, but also from the City’s intended cost increases, such as increases in civic services, increased staff, and refusal to tap into excess reserve designed for said shortfalls. The current proposed tax levy is designed to increase the Capital Reserves already nearly 50% higher than the stated policy of 16% of the City’s General Fund Revenue
(currently at $6 million). Meanwhile, nearly half of Americans have less than $500 in their Savings accounts.
LFP is full of professionals with financial expertise. Let’s bring them into the process and think beyond tax hikes to bolster reserves.
🌲 Environmental Protection - Living in Harmony with Nature. Establish a Citizens nvironmental Quality Commisssion
The founding vision of Lake Forest Park—dating back to Ole Hanson in 1910—was one of harmony with the land. It’s in our name: Lake. Forest. Park. Today, that vision is threatened by: Increased density and traffic, pressure to develop sensitive lands, and the impact of large-scale infrastructure projects.
To prevent degradation of streams, tree canopy, and vital ecosystems, we must act now. A Citizen Environmental Quality Commission, composed of members with environmental expertise, would provide informed input on the environmental impact of major city projects and work with other exisiting environmental committees here in LFP.
🚍 Stride-3 & Sound Transit: At What Cost?
I strongly support mass transit—but not Sound Transit’s plan for Lake Forest Park that permanently alters our community aesthetics and environment: removal of up to 400 trees, taking 2 acres of private property and a mile long retaining wall as high as 16 feet. Unlike my opponent, I back our City’s alternative plan, that greatly lowers project costs, speeds up construction, maintains our community aesthetics and tree cover and still delivers significant transit time savings to bus riders.
The current Sound Transit’s proposed expansion through Lake Forest Park will also be built over a highly environmentally sensitive area -Bsche’tla Creek & Ravine, and place residents near Bothell Way at high traffic risk and cause complexity in accessing thier neighborhoods. At what Cost? To save under 2 minutes of commute time (in one direction). This one 12 block section will cost Washington taxpayers an estimated half billion to complete and be an assault on our environment.
🏡 Balanced Housing Policy
State mandates (HB 1110, HB 1337) require more housing density and affordability. The challenge is to integrate these while preserving our unique ecosystems and community character. The Planning Commission has worked hard to balance these demands. As your Councilmember, I’ll support policies that meet legal obligations while protecting what makes LFP special—because once lost, our natural legacy cannot be restored.
(The state’s new law, HB 1110, mandates the construction of duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes—now termed "Middle Housing"—on formerly single-family lots. But Lake Forest Park Panning Commision supports ADUs and DADUs (as enabled by HB 1337), which offer more appropriate density with less environmental and infrastructure impact.)
I support LFP’s Citizen Planning Commission proposal because it minimizes the impact to our ecosystem while addressing the State’s density requirements.
🚧 Transportation
Did you know five major road projects will soon begin—affecting Ballinger Way (in three areas), Bothell Way, 145th & 15th? These projects will divert traffic onto neighborhood streets, putting walkers, cyclists, runners, and children in harm’s way. Is it time to re-establish the Citizens Transportation Committee? What do you think?
🌿 The Opportunity
The Answers Lie Right Here — with You, the Citizens of Lake Forest Park
Our community includes educators, engineers, artists, planners, social workers, financial experts, union-workers, and civic-minded neighbors. Did you know 2/3rds of our 13,600 residents have advanced degrees? We don’t need to look outward for wisdom — we already have it, right here at home.
Instead of defaulting to expensive consultants, we can create community-led task forces that bring diverse minds together to solve our biggest challenges. We can lean on local experience and passion to guide decision-making. Every city department could benefit from the perspective of residents — and so could the City Council.
My grandfather and other neighbors helped build the Civic Club — not with contractors and consultants, but with their own hands. That spirit still lives here. If we’re facing a budget crisis, let’s sit down with the CPAs, bankers, and financial minds who live here. If we’re facing social challenges, let’s invite in the caregivers, counselors, and compassionate residents who understand how to strengthen our community.
We don’t have to outsource our future. We can build it together with transparency, teamwork, and trust.
A vote for me is a vote for:
Environmental protection
Fiscal responsibility
Social awareness
Community involvement
Transparent and accountable leadership
Let’s protect what brought us all to Lake Forest Park in the first place — and leave it better than we found it.
🌿Why Position 1?
Lake Forest Park Deserves Leadership that Listens, Leads with Transparency, and Respects the Voices of its Citizens
I’m running to bring a fresh perspective—rooted in fiscal responsibility, environmental stewardship, and genuine community connection.
I bring to the table:
Over 40 years of financial and business leadership
A proven record of land preservation and sustainability
Experience helping individuals heal from trauma and navigate conflict
Strong skills in negotiation, creative problem-solving, and civic engagement
My family has called Lake Forest Park home for over 75 years. I’ve seen what thoughtful, community-led leadership can achieve—and I believe we can do better.
Over the past decade, our city’s financial reserves have steadily declined while spending has continued to rise. Now, residents are being asked to consider new taxes to fill the gap by increasing reserves. I believe we can take a smarter approach through analysis and community efforts.
Under current leadership:
The city spends nearly $1 million annually on consultants—including $100,000 recently to recommend a tax hike.
Key citizen committees that once empowered residents have been eliminated, weakening community input.
Millions have been spent on purchasing and planning to develop a lakefront property—despite ongoing concerns about safety, access, and parking. Do we need a building (and its perpetual maintenance & security), or is having a park just good enough for now?
Councilmember Semra Riddle, originally appointed to her seat and now in her ninth year, has supported these trends. I respect her years of service, but it's time for a new approach—one that invites fresh ideas, uses resources more wisely, and places residents at the center of decision-making.
Councilmember Riddle has backed nearly a decade of spending increases and tax hikes. She continues to support Sound Transit’s plans, even as concerns grow about their environmental and safety impacts on our neighborhoods.
I’m not here to rubber-stamp decisions. I’m here to ask hard questions, listen deeply, and lead with integrity. It’s time to return to a model of governance that reflects our community’s shared values.
Let’s work together to build a more balanced, sustainable, and inclusive future for Lake Forest Park.
Vote Bryce - Position 1
I bring a strong foundation of business and financial expertise, paired with thoughtful communication and collaborative leadership experience. But what I believe truly matters now is the balance of an analytic mind and an empathetic heart — working together, alongside small, focused teams of local citizens, to tackle our city’s most pressing issues.
My top concern is the city's financial future. We’re facing a budget deficit during strong economic times, which raises serious concerns about how we’ll fare when the next downturn inevitably comes. We need practical, community-driven solutions, and we need them now. I envision something bold yet deeply rooted in our values:
A committee of former council members acting as trusted elders, offering guidance and institutional wisdom.
A revitalized neighborhood watch, supporting our streets and schools while easing the burden on law enforcement.
A renewed sense of civic connection, where we recognize each other not by how we vote, but by how we show up for our community.
I don’t claim to have all the answers — but I firmly believe we do, as a collective. By bringing people together with humility, creativity, and shared purpose, I know we can solve today’s problems and emerge stronger, more united, and more resilient.
Margaret Mead said:
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has.”
A vote for me is a vote for environmental stewardship, social awareness, fiscal responsibility, transparency, accountability, and real community-led decision-making. We can do this — together.
🌿Overview
🌿 Get Involved
Together, we can shape the future of Lake Forest Park.
Whether you want to knock on doors, share your ideas, or simply spread the word, your involvement matters.
It takes a village
“Let’s co-create a financially stronger, more connected community”
🌿Contribute
Your support helps amplify our shared values — environmental protection, community involvement, and transparent leadership in Lake Forest Park. Every contribution, big or small, moves us closer to a better future.
🌿Contact
Bryce James
Position 1, Lake Forest Park City Council Candidate
17851 Ballinger Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155-4234