I am a deputy with the King County Sheriff’s Office. I also serve on the North Highline Unincorporated Area Council. Lee Lim is North Highline’s Asian liaison with the Sheriff’s Office and a council member. Steve Davis is a sergeant in the fraud unit of the Sheriff's Office and a council member. Barb Peters is a long-time volunteer with the Sheriff’s Office and a council member.

Our positions on the council are voluntary. The only benefit is being involved in the community, which to some of us is important. Our claim to fame is to exert influence on behalf of the people in North Highline. We have no power to make laws or appropriate money.

As council members, Lee Lim, Steve Davis, Barb Peters, myself and six others who have nothing to do with the Sheriff’s Office voted to recommend North Highline annexation to Burien. Prior to the vote, all council members, including those who did not vote to annex to Burien, agreed that the standard used should be what option is in the best interest of North Highline.

After at least two years of listening to arguments and presentations for all options, the council voted 10-1 that it would be in the best interest of North Highline to annex to Burien.

Some people who do not agree are now trying to unfairly discredit some of us on the council by distorting the truth. One such allegation is that my job and livelihood depend on annexing to Burien. Wrong. The truth is that the Sheriff’s Office would lose about 40 jobs if North Highline annexed to Seattle. We have about 650 deputies in our department. Those positions would be absorbed elsewhere in the department. I would not lose my job and I wouldn’t expect anyone to lose their job.

The truth is that no job in the Sheriff’s Office depends on annexation to Burien. That includes positions held by Lee Lim, Barb Peters and Steve Davis.

None of us are trying to hide who we work for or how the annexation issue would affect our jobs. We have all be very upfront about this. Those who suggest that some conflict of interest exists have no facts to support their allegation. I also suspect that those same people would not be making such allegations if we were in agreement with them about annexation.

No one on the council has a conflict of interest that would make it unethical for them to vote on a recommendation for annexation.

Let’s not forget, the council is not deciding the annexation issue. We have merely made a recommendation to the voters if an annexation option is put to a vote. How they vote will be up to them.

Steve Cox

Burien