November 2009 Election Information

Four Creeks Unincorporated Area Council is seeking Candidates to serve on the Council for the 2010-2011Term.  Four Creeks UAC is one of six citizen councils in unincorporated King County.  The Four Creeks UAC represents the interests of residents of the unincorporated area between Renton, Newcastle, Bellevue, Issaquah, and Maple Valley.  The area is divided into ten districts, each represented by one member, with five additional at-large members.

District candidates must live in the district they run for.  The At-Large positions are open to any registered voter in the Four Creeks UAC.  To determine your precinct, refer to your voter registration card.  All Positions are for 2 year Terms except District #4 and At-Large Position #2 which are for a one year terms.

Candidacy submittals must include full name, address, the district or at-large position running for, the voting precinct within which the candidate resides, phone number, and e-mail address.  Submittals can be mailed or emailed to the council as long as they are received no later than September 19th 2009.  The election will be held in November, concurrent with the general election.

You may declare your candidacy for one of the following positions up for election this year:

 

DISTRICT	VOTING PRECINCTS
One	Coalfield, Renhill, Sunset
Three	Briar, Daniel, Eastwood
Four	Husky, Brigid
Five	May Valley, Tanner
Seven	Maple Hills, Matthew
Nine	Four Lakes, Haas, Hutchinson
At-Large Position 1	All
At-Large Position 2	All
At-Large Position 3	All
At-Large Position 5	All

 

Send your written declaration to:

Four Creeks Election, P.O. Box 3501, Renton, WA  98056

Or e-mail us at council@fourcreeks.org

 

 

The FCUAC Election Process - Candidate Declaration Guidelines

• A member candidate for an election “declares” their interest in running for a membership position by 1) communicating their interest and 2) submitting a campaign statement by the deadline established for the current year’s election.
• A candidate’s Declaration implies interest and willingness to serve on the Council and to abide by its rules.
• All candidate communication, including the declaration and campaign statement, is done directly with the Election Committee Chair, via email sent to council@FourCreeks.org, or by regular mail to the Four Creeks mailing address.
• Campaign statements can be submitted hand written or a MS Word compatible document.
• Declarations must be received no later than their published deadline.  If using regular mail, assure enough time is available for delivery.  In 2009, this date is Sep 19th.
• Declarations must include full name, voter registration address, voting precinct, mailing address (if different), and contact information (email, phone(s))
• Candidates running for District positions must reside in one of the precincts included in the District.
• Candidates running for At-Large positions must reside in one of the precincts included in Four Creeks.  Note that the FCUAC by-laws do not allow more than one At-Large member from a specific precinct.
• The FCUAC Election Committee reserves the right to edit Declarations, notifying Candidates of any changes.
• See the Four Creeks UAC web site (www.FourCreeks.org) for more information.

 

For additional information including district maps, visit www.FourCreeks.org, e-mail council@fourcreeks.org  or call Shelia Hurst, 2009 Elections Committee Chairperson, at 425-234-0241.

 

Note, that FCUAC only sends one ballot letter to each household showing at least one registered voter. If there is more than one voter at the address, the ballot may be copied or a copy of the ballot can be downloaded here (when posted).

 

General information

Election calendar

Membership and voting qualifications

Election of officers and creation of committees

Frequently Asked Questions

Becoming a member of the Four Creeks UAC

GENERAL INFORMATION

The Four Creeks UAC holds public elections annually concurrent with the normal November election held in King County.

Council positions for odd numbered districts and three (3) of the At-Large positions are subject to election on odd numbered years while council positions for even numbered districts and two (2) of the at large positions are subject to election on even numbered years.

The election also includes any other positions that have been vacated since the last election.

MEMBERSHIP AND VOTING QUALIFICATIONS

Any citizen interested and willing to participate, who is is registered to vote and has their primary residence within the boundaries of the Four Creeks Unincorporated Area is eligible to run for a FCUAC position. Candidates for specific districts must have their primary residence within the district while at-large positions require primary residency simply within the FCUAC area. Sample candidacy statements can be found here (PDF).

Letters of interest must include full name, address, the district or at-large position running for, and the voting precinct within which the candidate resides and can be mailed or emailed to the council as long as they are received no later than the submittal of candidacy deadline date for the election year (below).

 

ELECTION OF OFFICERS AND CREATION OF COMMITTEES

The election of officers for the upcoming year and the creation or extension of committees is done in the first regular meeting following the counting of the ballots from the annual election.

 

ELECTION CALENDAR

2009 Election Calendar

DATE	EVENT
July 31:	90-day public notice deadline
Sep 19:	45-day submittal of candidacy deadline
Sep 29:	Candidacy statements must be received
Nov 3:	General election. Ballots must be postmarked by midnight.
Nov 5:	Public vote counting (date approximate; actual date will be announced on the web site nearer the election).
Nov 18:	Election results reported by the Election Committee. All candidates should plan on attending this meeting.
Dec 1:	Due date for any challenges to election results.
Dec 16:	Election Challenges to be resolved and any Council Vacancies may be filled by appointment.
Jan 20, 2010:	Installation of new Council Members and election of Council Officers.

BECOMING A MEMBER OF FCUAC

Four Creeks Unincorporated Area Council is one of six citizen councils in unincorporated King County.  The Four Creeks UAC represents residents of the unincorporated area lying between Renton, Newcastle, Bellevue, Issaquah, and Maple Valley.  The area is divided into eleven districts, each represented by one member, with four additional at-large members.

If you are a registered voter within the Four Creeks area boundary, you may declare your candidacy for one of the following positions up for election this year.  District candidates must live in the district they run for.  The At-Large positions are open to any registered voter in the Four Creeks UAC.   To determine your precinct, refer to your voter registration card. Positions are for 2 years unless noted below.

 

2009 - 2011 Term – elected in odd years

DISTRICT	PRECINCTS
One	Coalfield, Renhill, Sunset
Three	Eastwood, Daniel, Briar
Five	Tanner, May Valley
Seven	Matthew, Maple Hills
Nine	Four Lakes, Hutchinson, Haas
At-Large #1	All
At-Large #3	All
At-Large #5	All

 

2008 - 2010 Term – elected in even years

DISTRICT	PRECINCTS
Two	Ida, Briarwood, Valencia
Four	Husky, Brigid, Tanya, O’Donnell
Six	Cougar Mt., Squak Mt., Hi-Valley, Edgehill
Eight	Naila, McDonald
Ten	MColleen, Mirrormont, Tiger Mt.
At-Large #2	All
At-Large #4	All

 

TWO WAYS TO BECOME A MEMBER

You can become a member of FCUAC either via election or via appointment. As mentioned, elections for half the members occurs every year at the same time as the general election.  In addition to election, FCUAC bylaws allow for unfilled positions to be filled via appointment.

 

Membership via election

To be elected to FCUAC membership a candidate participates in the annual election and can run for either their home district or an at-large position.

To declare your candidacy for election, send a written declaration to Four Creeks Election, P.O. Box 3501, Renton, WA  98056, or e-mail council@fourcreeks.org.  Please include your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, and precinct name.  For additional information including district maps, visit www.fourcreeks.org or e-mail council@fourcreeks.org.

Deadline to declare candidacy is September 29, 2009.

 

Candidacy statements of not more than 200 words need to be written by each candidate and are included with the election ballot. To view sample candidacy statements look here. (PDF)

 

Membership via appointment

If there are unfilled positions after an election or because a position was vacated, FCUAC bylaws allow for the appointment of members to fill the vacant positions.

If a person qualified for membership lives in a district currently vacant, he/she can be appointed directly to that district position. Or, if a person qualified for membership lives in a district currently filled, he/she can be appointed to an at-large position.

Although FCUAC usually only carries 4 at-large positions, additional at-large positions can be created and filled via appointment if numbered districts are vacant.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

These are some of the common questions people sometimes have about the FCUAC elections:

 

"I didn't receive a ballot. Can/should I still vote?"

YES: It sometimes happens that we miss a household. Ballots can be downloaded from the website or received by calling one of the individuals listed above and we’ll get a ballot or ballots to you.

 

"I don't see my voting precinct on any of the districts on the ballot. Can/should I still vote?"

YES: Not all FCUAC districts, and therefore not all voting precincts, are up for election each year. However, even if the district that includes your voting precinct is not being voted on this year, you can still cast votes for 2 of the At-Large positions and are encouraged to do so.

 

"I didn't receive a ballot. Why? How do I vote?"

Simply because of the cost of the mailing FCUAC only sends one ballot per mailing address (to the name that appears first alphabetically). However, ballots can be photocopied or additional ballots can be downloaded from this web site (see above).

 

"Do I write my name on the ballot?"

NO: All ballots are official and should not contain any means to associate the actual voter with their vote. However, the envelope used to mail in the ballot must have the voter's name on it so that their name can be checked against registered voter listings. Mailing envelopes are destroyed before ballots are counted and no information from the envelope is transferred to the ballot.

 

"Can I send more than one ballot in an envelope?"

YES: This answer actually contradicts the instructions on the ballot however, it reflects current thinking. Multiple ballots may be sent in a single envelope however they all need to come from registered voters at the same address. We ask that the names of all the individuals submitting ballots be written on the outside of the envelope.

 

"Can I send my FCUAC ballot in with my Washington State Absentee Ballot?"

NO: The FCUAC election is separate from the Washington State election although it occurs on the same date.

 

"When is the deadline for voting?"

All votes must be mailed and must be postmarked no later than Tuesday, November 3, 2009.