Tim Burgess
Tim Burgess
Seattle City Council
Position 7
2007 CITY OF SEATTLE CANDIDATE QUESTIONNAIRE
1. Building public awareness: What priority do you assign to Seattle's efforts to educate
community residents about the importance of historic preservation?
X High Priority □ Medium □ Low □ No opinion
Statement: Historic preservation is all about preserving the soul of Seattle. As Seattle
evolves and grows, it’s important that we maintain a strong connection with our past by
preserving historic structures, venues, and open spaces.
2. Revitalizing neighborhoods: What priority do you give to assuring that Seattle has the
financial resources required to play a significant role in revitalizing historic neighborhoods?
X High Priority □ Medium □ Low □ No opinion
Statement: Neighborhoods are the lifeblood of Seattle and preserving those with the richest
historic significance is crucial to our sense of place and identity. Revitalizing historic
neighborhoods—like we have done with Pioneer Square, the Pike Place Market,
Georgetown, and other locations—is a high priority for me. My roots are planted deep in
this city and I want it to remain a great city even as it evolves over time.
I was recently endorsed by the Washington Conservation Voters and Allied Arts, two
organizations that value protecting our natural environment and our built environment.
3. Preserving designated City landmarks: What priority do you give to sustaining Seattle's
designated landmarks and saving other landmark-eligible historic places as properties that enable
residents to see history and learn from it?
X High Priority □ Medium □ Low □ No opinion
Statement: Again, I believe preservation should be a central element of our city’s public
policy. Preserving our history, including selected parks of the built environment, is
important to the long-term viability of the city.
4. Protecting Seattle's heritage in court: What priority do you assign to the work of the Hearing
Examiner and City Attorney regarding the preservation of designated City landmarks and
landmark-eligible properties?
X High Priority □ Medium □ Low □ No opinion
Statement: Historic preservation involves both public advocacy and legal protections. I
support aggressive enforcement and use of the city’s legal authority to enable preservation
and to protect designated landmarks.
5. Advocacy for historic homeowners: How do you rate Seattle's efforts to influence public
policy and public perceptions around the benefits of preserving significant historic residences?
X High Priority X Medium □ Low □ No opinion
Statement: I believe we can do better to protect historic structures in our residential
neighborhoods. I recognize this is a complicated area of law and sometimes preservation
interests clash with the property rights of homeowners. But, effective public leadership can
create a win-win environment that benefits both the homeowner and the public interest.
6. Influencing public policy: What priority do you place on Seattle's work to foster preservation friendly policies and funding?
X High Priority □ Medium □ Low □ No opinion
Statement: City government should take a strong leadership role in these efforts; for
example, Councilmember Steinbrueck’s recent efforts. The Mayor and Council should
work together to foster an environment where historic preservation is advocated, valued,
and realized.
7. Supporting historic preservation: What priority do you assign to sustaining and funding
Seattle's Historic Preservation Program in the Department of Neighborhoods?
X High Priority □ Medium □ Low □ No opinion
Statement: This is a valuable program that should be continued, especially in light of a
rapidly changing city. Historic preservation requires public and private partnerships, but
the city government should be a strong advocate and leader of the effort.
8. Funding for preservation projects: What priority do you assign to the provision of grants and
revolving loans for Seattle's private historic preservation projects?
□ High Priority X Medium □ Low □ No opinion
Statement: I place high priority on revolving loans and medium priority on issuing grants.
Public resources can best be used to create an environment that values preservation,
provides legal protections and opportunities for preservation, and encourages private
funding of private historic preservation projects.
