With a stark difference between their elective experience, Greg Taylor and Sarah Sanoy-Wright are in a low-key race for City Council Position 4 now held by Taylor.

The general election is Nov. 8.

Taylor sat down with Renton Reporter staff and Editorial Board members for an on-the-record interview recently. Sanoy-Wright, who has been out of the country in Iraq, submitted answers to questions via email.

Taylor has been a council member since 2008 and his priorities are public safety and economic and community development. He is also concerned with capitalizing on and promoting Renton’s diverse population, which he says impacts all three of his platforms.

Sanoy-Wright calls herself a “citizen politician” and is motivated to serve by the belief that “no one is listening to the people.”

They both agree on the issue of relocating the current library over the Cedar River: they were against it. But, their approach to revitalizing the city and making it fiscally responsible differs.

Taylor describes his job on the City Council as a servant to the people and his community service work mirrors that. He’s worked with Communities In Schools Renton, the Salvation Army and Renton Rotary. Regionally he’s worked with the Suburban Cities Association’s Committee to End Homelessness, the Domestic Violence Initiative and the Emergency Management Advisory Council.

Sanoy-Wright says her community background spans 30 years of dealing with issues such as poverty, unemployment and sick people.

Recently her enthusiasm for understanding people’s needs took her to Iraq. She has been there for one month, learning about the problems of people, such as war widows, refugees and victims of violence in northern Iraq towns.

The experience was offered to her through the Kingery Institute in the Kurdistan region’s city of Erbil.

“Iraq is similar with Renton as both societies have seen more than their share of conflict and the losers have been the common people,” Sanoy-Wright said.

One of her top priorities is to save “our” community, meaning saving the current downtown library location at Liberty Park and also eliminating red-light cameras.

Like many who’ve voiced their opposition to the library’s move, Sanoy-Wright feels that the current location is iconic.

“I want to adopt the best for our people and save our local icons and not be so quick to give them away,” she said, referring to the annexation of the City of Renton into the King County Library System in 2010.

Concerning the red-light cameras, Sanoy-Wright said she thinks they are just another hidden tax costing citizens thousands of dollars in fines; she prefers roundabouts to ease congestion.

The City Council’s decision to relocate the library did not sit will with Taylor either.

“It became apparent as we went through this process that we weren’t getting that kind of support from our community members,” said Taylor, identifying a lack of positive outpouring from residents on the issue.

To him, that’s when the City Council needed to slow the process down to create an opportunity for engagement and involvement. But, his attempts to re-direct the council were voted down by the council.

Taylor could have gone either way and even supported the move to the former Big 5 Sporting Goods location, if he knew that the community was supportive of it, he said.

But, his opposition came from hearing from many constituents who weren’t happy with the council’s decision. Taylor’s stance was not based on his own personal agenda but the will of the people, he said.

“When we begin to see that there are clear indications that maybe we don’t have the support that we need to have with our efforts, I think that it’s time to address, re-calibrate and step back and start asking ourselves questions,” Taylor said.

On the issue of revitalizing downtown Renton, the two candidates take different roads to the same goal.

Both agree that taking a comprehensive approach is the way to go.

Just one aspect of Taylor’s vision is promoting and capitalizing on the city’s diverse populations. He made it a point to have the city adopt such language in their business plan at a recent retreat.

Taylor adds, “Improving our community health outcomes will promote more opportunities in education, economic development, community engagement, public safety and quality of life for all Renton residents.”

He wants to create more thriving communities and tie that in with economic development.

“I do not believe that putting a library in a downtown core such as ours is going to be a silver bullet,” he said.

He reasons that doing so draws a demographic that is already seeking free resources from the library, not a consumer-driven demographic like the Farmers Market crowd.

Sanoy-Wright said to make businesses thrive in the city, the cost of rent needs to go down. The solution, she says, is allowing businesses to operate at a mobile site until they are established enough to open a permanent one.

“It is possible to have occupants pay based upon a percentage of sales instead of a high escalated rent payment,” she said.

Job growth she would improve by bringing high-paying jobs to the city. Her idea is to convince high-profile companies like Microsoft to move into some of the empty office space in the city.

“Renton needs to do more than just offer lip service to job creation,” Sanoy-Wright said.

COUNCIL POSITION 4

Greg Taylor

FAMILY: wife, Sandra and daughter

HOMETOWN: Chicago

EDUCATION: Dominion College, 2002-2004, with certificates in leadership development and leadership principles and practices

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES: Chair of the City Council Public Safety Committee, vice-chair of the City Council Finance Committee, member of the City Council Planning and Development Committee, Communities In Schools Renton Advisory Council, Renton Salvation Army Advisory Board and Renton Rotary Club. Regionally represents Renton at the Suburban Cities Association’s Committee to End Homelessness Governing Board, the Domestic Violence Initiative, and the Emergency Management Advisory Council.

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: member of Renton City Council since 2008

MUNICIPAL LEAGUE RATING: Outstanding

TOP THREE ISSUES: 1) public safety 2) economic development 3) community development

Sarah Sanoy-Wright

FAMILY: She has a husband and is a mother

HOMETOWN: Renton resident since 1981, came as an immigrant

COMMUNITY ACTIVITIES: Participant in the Kingery Institute in Erbil, Iraq, a so-called “boot camp for City Council candidates.”

POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: None

MUNICIPAL LEAGUE RATING: Not qualified

TOP THREE ISSUES: 1) Save our community 2) Save our local businesses 3) Save for our children’s future a.k.a make the city fiscally responsible