‘Please stay involved’

To the voters of Burien:

Thank you for taking time to vote. I appreciate the chance to serve the entire community for the last eight years. We’ve done a lot in that time.

My recent re-election campaign offered a bright, positive, upbeat vision of Burien’s future. We did this in a professional manner, in good taste, and with honesty, truth, solid ethics and values. My deepest thanks to everyone who voted for me.

I chose not to respond to the smear campaign against me. I chose not to dignify the fabrications and distortions with a response. Nothing they said was true or accurate. Being a council member is about character. We should fear those who seek election using fears and falsehoods.

Thank you, again, for supporting me. I never expected anyone to agree with me all the time. I saw my job as doing the best for the largest number I could, rather than pander to small but noisy, self-interest groups.

Please stay involved in the community to ensure that public officials do what’s best, not what’s expedient or easy, not what some small, noisy group wants. Be wary when officials ask you to do their job by putting controversial matters to a public vote. Perhaps their first interest is staying in office rather than leading.

Stephen Lamphear

Burien City Councilmember

1998-2005