[EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a Letter to the Editor, written and submitted by a verified Burien resident. It represents the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of South King Media or its staff.]
Keep Burien Local
I hope this letter finds you well. I am writing to express my belief in the importance of keeping Burien governed by its own citizens. As a member of this community, I feel it is essential that the people who live, work, and raise their families here have the primary say in the decisions that shape our city’s future. I urge you to continue supporting policies that keep Burien’s governance in the hands of those who know and care about it the most—us, the people of Burien. If you don’t know or have questions, please ask!
Burien is a unique community with a diverse population, strong local values, and an intimate understanding of the needs and desires of our residents. When outside interests or individuals from beyond our city become too involved in governance, there is a large risk that decisions will be made that do not reflect the interests of our people or that prioritize external concerns over the well-being of our citizens. I personally have witnessed the destruction from these outside groups and even citizens inside our city that advocate for these outside groups. Over the last 4 years a singular group of individuals inside of Burien have surely been causing widespread issues when it comes to the city’s governing. (Take a look back during any of Burien’s large problems it faced during those years including policing, general governing, drug enforcement and theft, homelessness, minimum wage, frivolous lawsuits, etc etc… and you will find a direct connection and association by the same group of people causing issues for the city of Burien.) Research it for yourself and you will see.
*** As we know Initiative 1 has passed and from what I see, barely anyone voted on it. That’s truly unfortunate because this initiative was funded by big labor and professional Socialist groups from outside Burien who spent over $135,000 to pass it. Their campaign was dishonest and deceitful and yet because of our lack of voters, it ended up passing. Which could be seen as a huge loss ***
Keeping Burien governed by its own residents ensures that our priorities—such as affordable housing, local businesses, education, and community safety—are always at the forefront of policy decisions. Local governance also allows us to hold our leaders accountable, ensuring that they are responsive to the needs of the community they represent. Don’t let outside advocates sway your vote, listen to your community!
Furthermore, maintaining local control fosters a sense of ownership and pride in our city. When decisions are made by those who understand the daily lives of Burien’s residents, we build a stronger, more connected community.
Thank you for your time. I look forward to seeing Burien thrive as a place where local voices lead the way, NOT outside policies, outside initiatives, or extremist views.
Keep outside governing out of Burien and make sure to vote!
Thank you,
– John M. Lowrance
3rd Generation Burien Resident
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That’s the truth put to print, next or any Council election if you see any candidates with those same tainted individuals or groups supporting them you should cross that name out and not be a sellout.
I couldn’t agree more. The harder we work to improve our city the harder must also work to protect it. Neither myself nor any of my neighbors voted in support so I’m not too sure who swayed the results. I am glad to hear a voice of reason in the crowd. Thank you!
Signed,
Burien Local
I agree as well! Great letter and pleased to see more great voices amongst Burien. The final results of Initiative 1 election was: ( Per King County Election Results)
City of Burien
Total Burien Ballots Counted: 8,733
* Total Burien Registered Voters: 30,146
———————————————–
28.97%
Initiative Measure No. 1
Yes Vote =4,988
No Vote =3,736
Pretty poor representation.
100% great letter and I strongly agree! It all seemed to really take off around when the new mayor of Burien was elected (Kevin)… and in turn the people of Burien wanted many of those characters inside that group you’ve mentioned out the Burien council, including their activist friends.. as Burien was quickly going down the tubes at that time.
Ever since its been retaliation after retaliation against the city of Burien.
They have protested, issued lawsuits, wrote stories and backed iniatives that go against the city of Burien’s direction out of spite.. They seem to just glout when they win out of personal gain and are purely focused on “winning” or “getting a win” over the city of Burien instead of governing or bettering the city of Burien. Then they praise themselves by writing about it.
Regardless, I hope for a better Burien where we all work for one common goal and thats to make the best city possible.
Please vote in upcoming elections!!
I agree 100%. Mr. Lamphear in his profession has I assume, worked with many small businesses over his career. He knows what will happen. In no particular order the Mom and Pops will
1) try and raise prices
2) reduce worker hours
3) lay off
4) go broke
5) Vote with their feet (which the advocates never mention businesses are free to do)
All of which will be hard on Burien, and will result in job losses not gains for the minimum wage work force. Also, of interest as far as I can tell, none of the advocates, actually have any employees and or any presence in main street Burien. so, when they say “WE” what they really mean is us not them, as it appears it will not affect them at all
I’m not purchased by anyone, including those who represent our workers. I’m a 33-year Burien resident, and I spent my own money to push this initiative in the worker’s best interest.
The opposition lied about the connection to Tukwila. It is merely incidental to use their wage as the first step in raising Burien’s minimum wage. Afterward, increases will be based on the cost of living – much like increases are now for the state minimum wage.
To ‘pull yourself up with your bootstraps’ you first have to have some bootstraps. That’s what we’re giving our workers – bootstraps, limited as they are.
Thats good, so you agree that there was deceitful lieing in this campaign.
Also the campaign was funded by outside organizations to push it, you were just another person to push funds for them.
I have bad vision but I hope I can find a bootstrap nearby to pull
There was definitely deceitful lying in this campaign, but it didn’t come from Raise The Wage Burien, it came from Burien City Council and people posting disinformation on this blog.
While John expresses genuine concern about “local governance,” I believe this perspective misunderstands both the nature of our challenges and the reality of privilege in our community. When we examine what’s really being said here, it reflects a viewpoint that inadvertently protects a status quo that benefits a small portion of residents at the expense of others.
The issues facing Burien – affordable housing, public safety, living wages – are the same challenges facing every American city. Framing these as somehow local problems that require isolation from “outside influences” misses how deeply interconnected these systemic issues are.
Let’s talk about what real “interference” looks like: A City Council, emboldened by large donations from local business owners, brazenly violated public trust by rushing through a deceptive minimum wage ordinance specifically designed to dismantle worker protections. They didn’t just mislead the public – they actively gaslit our community while also walking a dangerous legal line between governance and illegal campaign activity. That corruption is the interference we should be worried about, not local labor groups fighting for workers.
John’s concern about Initiative 1’s funding sources is particularly revealing. When corporate interests fund opposition, it raises no alarms, but when working people pool their resources through unions to fight for basic rights, suddenly it’s “outside interference.” This double standard isn’t necessarily intentional, but it shows how deeply ingrained these biases can be in our understanding of local politics. Workers overcoming systemic issues necessarily requires collective action. This shouldn’t be a surprise, nor should it be a red flag.
True local governance means acknowledging that all voices in our community matter, not just those who’ve historically held power. Labor unions and progressive groups represent our neighbors, our essential workers, and our families. Their participation in local politics isn’t just legitimate – it’s essential for counterbalancing the entrenched interests that currently dominates Burien’s politics.
The phrase “local voices” often unconsciously excludes those fighting for living wages and worker protections. But Burien belongs to all of us. The success of Initiative 1 proves that when given a fair choice, Burien residents democratically choose progress over the preservation of an inequitable status quo.
Thanks for your comment and if you had a question about anything in the letter one could have just asked for clarity but instead you chose to prioritize your own perceptions of my words and their meanings into your own personalized rebuttal. That’s a cognitive dead end.
I look forward to seeing Burien thrive as a place where local voices lead the way, NOT outside policies, outside initiatives, or extremist views.
Keep outside governing out of Burien and don’t forget to vote.!
For what it’s worth, I had all the same thoughts reading your letter. In addition, I also thought it sounded quite desperate and exclusionary that you included your “third-generation Burien citizen,” as though the longevity one lives in a place automatically means their voices should count more. That’s just not how democracy works (and you should be thankful for the equal rights we still have at the ballot box).
Burien does seek isolation; that’s why Burien incorporated in the first place. And as the city has grown, there are more of us who see that isolation is simply not feasible in a growing region, and think that this “locals-first” approach does more harm than good to our community. Just like many people believe that an “America-first” approach does more harm than good for our country.
You seem to forget that LOCAL VOICES are the only voices that actually voted in this election. Local voices were ignored by our city governance when we raised concerns, after our governance chose not to consult local voices before passing the regressive ordinance last year. Local voices signed a petition to get this measure on the ballot, and local voices sought donors to fund a measure we believed in, and gave of our own funds, too.
Only local voices voted. It seems like people who wanted to raise Burien’s minimum wage simply cared enough to exercise their right to vote more. Or, perhaps there are more minimum wage local voices in Burien than you realize, and they want to make the same amount as their neighbors.
Great, spot on comments. Thank you for taking the time to put this together!
Local news media comments sections all get brigaded by right wingers, but their loud voices are not in the majority.
Thank you for writing this letter! My husband and I whole heartily agree with everything you’ve mentioned.
Remember to vote and tell your friends!
Hello, thank you John for speaking out on this as I agree with everything you’ve said in your letter. As a long time small business owner in Burien these advocates are absolutely wrong and not only that….
I haven’t seen one of them say they own a business with employees in Burien, nor have a seen one of them that’s in poverty, but yet they act like knights defending something that mean so much to them but its not true at all. They don’t represent us and they claim to speak for “workers of Burien” how far-fetched is that. Politics these days are tricky, there seems to be a lot of people that are in it for the wrong reasons – like personal gain, revenge, power etc etc.
Change will come, its already coming but remembering to vote helps more!
You don’t sound like a worker of Burien, you sound like an employer of Burien – nothing wrong with that, but, why cast aspersions on people claiming to be workers of Burien?
John is spot on with his letter, thanks for writing it. Keep Burien Local
Also the voting turnout tells a lot to how many citizens wanted this Initiative, which was very low.
No, that’s not right. The low turnout tells how many citizens were paying attention to this initiative. In this case, the people paying attention were the ones who wanted it to pass. If people were truly against it, they would/should have voted against it. Apathy doesn’t mean “They didn’t want it,” it means they didn’t care. Stop making up narratives. Nobody knows what would have happened if more people had voted. That’s why we hold votes.
If a measure/initiative is truly in line with the will of the people, its very likely to inspire more than just the (28.97%) of Burien voters who showed up to vote, that includes both the “yes” and the “no” voters. It’s possible that a larger, more representative sample would have produced a different result but we won’t know
Also If a majority of citizens were truly in favor or against any initiative/measure, it’s very likely they would have made the effort to vote, especially if the issue was significant enough to mobilize them. The common denominator here is low voter turnout on both sides, one can do their own research for what that means…