West Seattle resident Tom Koch has joined eight others in announcing his candidacy for Seattle City Council District 1.

Already announced and campaigning are Chas Redmond, Amanda Kay Hemlock, George Capestany, Phillip Tavel, Shannon Braddock, Brianna Thomas Lisa Herbold and Dave Montoure.

Koch who said that his background includes expertise in land use and has experience as both a small business owner and pre-school teacher. Interestingly enough he put himself through college by being a successful game show contestant.

Koch also cited his time in service to the Democratic party in various capacities.

Here is Koch's prepared statement:

Land use expert, Tom Koch, filed for the seat vacated by retiring Seattle City Councilmember Tom Rasmussen in District 1. Koch is also a former pre-school teacher and current small business owner.

When asked about his campaign announcement today, Koch (pronounced ‘kawsh’) spoke about his vision for District 1, “I am excited to announce my run for the open seat. Having worked on land use issues for 29 years, I can tell you there is much more we can be doing in our city to protect our neighborhoods.”

Although the race for District 1 is already quite crowded, Koch believes his experience holding developers accountable, protecting open space and providing affordable housing sets him far apart from the rest of the field, “No one currently in this race has the same level of ‘hands-on’ experience I would bring to the council when dealing with issues of affordability and development. I am not afraid to say that developers aren’t paying their fair share and we can do a better job promoting smart and fair growth in our city.”

Koch runs a small business that focuses on land use. Projects Koch managed have resulted in thousands of acres of parks and public open space with trail access, environmental enhancements, four developer-built public schools and more than 3,000 units of affordable housing. He was Chairman of the New Castle Land Use Advisory Committee in Delaware, has led successful campaigns to create Urban Growth Boundaries and a project Koch led won the 2007 Sustainable Visionary Project of the Year award.

Specifically, Koch called for a new approach to development: “Currently, we subsidize developers through a combination of higher taxes and degraded services. We can’t afford more massive projects which refuse to pay their own way. Let’s do the right thing, use our authority to mandate development impact fees and end this absurd practice.”

In addition to focusing on smart and fair growth, Koch also laid out his vision for other important district issues, like transportation: “The situation with the tunnel is untenable. I opposed the deep bore tunnel because it decreased West Seattle’s downtown access in order to increase waterfront property values. I will fight to protect District 1’s specific mobility and transit needs rather than look for someone to blame for our current transportation mess.”

Koch is also passionate about the arts and was excited to announce the early and enthusiastic endorsement of Judy Pigott, a progressive donor and current board member of both ArtsWest and Social Justice Fund Northwest. Pigott said of Koch’s announcement, “I couldn’t be more excited to see someone who is so dedicated to social justice, equity, the environment and arts. Tom is exactly the type of advocate District 1 needs on the council.”

Koch’s other experience includes work as an aide to both a democratic congressman and county supervisor. Additionally, he served as President of Shelter, Inc - a homeless support organization. Koch is a lifelong progressive Democrat having walked precincts for US Senator Alan Cranston at age six and personally registered more than 20,000 Democrats in high school. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention and is a current member of both the 34th District Democrats and the ACLU. You can find his blog at www.liberalmoose.wordpress.com

On a lighter note, Koch is a seven-time game show contestant including Jeopardy, Sale of the Century and Wheel of Fortune. He put himself through college appearing on quiz shows in order to secure his degree in political science in 1984 from UC Berkeley.

Koch lives with his wife of 21 years, Katie, in the North Admiral neighborhood of West Seattle.