Late last September, after sending out mailers and doorbelling, Burien City Council candidate Rose Clark thought she had all the issues down.

But, the newly elected councilwoman observed recently, she was wrong.

“Annexation of North Highline into Burien had only been an issue for a short time frame,” Clark said. “This is an issue that I wasn’t prepared to deal with.”

While doorbelling, she discovered that many residents felt they have not been involved in the decision and resent the council’s pending vote on annexation without hearing their opinions.

Clark, a former councilwoman who defeated Councilman Stephen Lamphear, said she was successful in November’s election because she listened to the people and will carry their ideas with her throughout her upcoming term.

She added that she will push for more community meetings.

Other candidates shared Clark’s views on their victories, and some suggested the campaign was instilled with agendas that were not so transparent to the community.

Deputy Mayor Joan McGilton, who was elected to a second term on the council, said that she feels she won because she personally doorbelled 1,500 houses.

“What I have heard is that more than 90 percent of the residents I spoke with are against annexation,” she said, noting that city staffers has not provided her with enough information to make a decision yet.

Political newcomer Sue Blazak, who defeated Mayor Noel Gibb, agreed with Clark and McGilton.

Blazak added there are certain aspects of the Town Square project where citizens feel their opinions are not being considered, such as the planned relocation of Meal Makers restaurant.

However, she noted that this concern extends beyond Town Square; people are not getting the information they need for other issues, such as the annexation, and generally don’t feel good about the direction the city is heading in.

Gibb said while he talked and listened to many people during the campaign as well, the election for Burien City Council was grounded in hate.

“There are very negative roles out there that are being played by people. I chose not to play a role in it,” Gibb observed.

He also pointed out the similarity between his vote total and the votes cast for Lamphear, who lost to Clark, and urged people to ask themselves “whether this was a mere coincidence.

“If you look at the votes for different issues, Lamphear and I are almost head-to-head on a number of votes both for and against issues. It’s almost perfect.”

Lamphear, who referred to this election as a “grudge match” (he defeated Clark in the 1997 election), said some people want to be on the council for their own personal issues.

“It’s either about having your own agenda, or doing the right thing. I never had my own agenda,” he declared.

Steve Denmark, who lost against McGilton, agreed with Lamphear.

“I didn’t seek special interest groups,” Denmark said. “This is a non-partisan race and candidates are not supposed to have special interest affiliations.”

Candidates for the Des Moines Council also had their own notions as to why they won or lost.

The election ended the influence of former Councilman Don Wasson on that city’s council.

Wasson became mayor after the election of Maggie Steenrod, Gary Petersen and Richard Benjamin in 2001 gave him a four-vote majority on the council.

But he was forced to resign in the wake of a campaign finance scandal in 2003. Benjamin did not seek re-election, and Steenrod and Petersen lost their bids for election to second terms.

Winning candidates stressed the importance of supporting city services.

“I won because of the fact that I am in favor of restoring the police to its full size,” said former Highline School Board member Ed Pina, who defeated Steenrod.

“I also want to see the city work closely with other services. We need better coordination.”

Steenrod and Petersen were the only two council members who did not support a proposed property tax levy lid lift, said Steenrod.

Yet the levy lid lift, which was aimed at restoring police services to 1999 staffing levels, was rejected.

“It is very ironic that the voters didn’t support the lid lift either,” said Steenrod, who added it is not about being against city services but against more taxes that will ultimately drive people out of the city.

She observed that only Petersen and herself were business owners among the council members.

“Petersen would show up at many of the council meetings late, just getting off work from his towing business, without having any time to even eat dinner,” Steenrod added, noting it is difficult to balance work with council duties.

Despite this difficulty, Steenrod said her work on the council was important because many people who attend council meetings have different perspectives than business owners and poor families.

However, because she voted this way, some council members misconstrued her intent, she said.

This intent, others noted, was reminiscent of the 2001 election and subsequent political events that surrounded former Mayor Don Wasson.

Wasson was found guilty of multiple violations of campaign finance laws by the state Public Disclosure Commission before resigning from office.

“People were too beholden to [Wasson] as a person rather than to good judgment,” said former Councilwoman Carmen Scott, who defeated Petersen last month.

Scott said she ran because she wanted a “cohesive council.”

Former Councilman Dave Kaplan, who was defeated in 2001, won his race against Rob Back for the seat vacated by Benjamin.

Kaplan filed the initial complaint against Wasson and others with the PDC in 2002.

“I am fed up with the shenanigans of the last election,” Kaplan declared. “It is time to put up or shut up.”