Candidate profile — Jim Llewellyn

Published 2:00 pm Wednesday, October 10, 2001

Four years ago, Jim Llewellyn drew up a 10-point platform of things he wanted to accomplish on the city council.

Saying that all of those items still need work, Llewellyn is seeking re-election to his central district seat.

“The community values survey taken in 1992 and the one taken last year show a lot of the same concerns, many of which I share. Those concerns are not easily taken care of,” said Llewellyn.

His 1997 platform included things like better communication, fiscal responsibility, affordable housing and regulatory reform – “big picture” items that can always be done better.

Llewellyn does think progress has been made, in certain areas.

“Our roads are better than they were,” he said, “and we have better bike paths and lanes, pedestrian paths and sidewalks than we did.”

Llewellyn is also proud of the new city hall, and the adoption of the Winslow Master Plan. But much remains to be done, he said.

The communications problem, he said, involves the majority of citizens who do not have the time to be actively involved in local politics.

“Their lives are pretty busy,” he said. “I think probably for them the internet is a good way to communicate, so we need to improve our capabilities on the city web page.”

LLewellyn said the council needs to continue diligently trying to keep spending down. But there are limits to how much can be done, he said, noting that a “fine-toothed comb” review of the budget produced savings on only about $100,000 from an operating budget nearing $15 million.

Llewellyn is pleased with the way the council and mayor have worked together on open-space preservation.

Several significant acquisitions have occurred during Llewellyn’s term, including land at the head of Port Blakely, the Vincent Road landfill, and the Salter property near Meigs Park, with other acquisitions pending.

“When an opportunity has presented itself, the council hasn’t hesitated to move ahead, giving the mayor authority to negotiate a deal for the city,” he said.

Llewellyn is a strong proponent of the Town Center garage and housing project proposed for downtown Winslow.

“I like Winslow Way the way it is, kind of funky and eclectic. But we have got to do something to keep it viable,” he said.

Llewellyn is also concerned about preserving island diversity – economic, social and age diversity.

While affordable housing is an important element of preserving diversity – Llewellyn favors such measures as the proposed cottage-housing ordinance – it’s not the only element, he said.

He cites the example of Bainbridge Manufacturing, which left the island recently because it couldn’t find expansion space.

“The owner told me that he hired half a dozen local Filipino farmers, who couldn’t make enough money farming to live on,” Llewellyn said. “When the business goes, what do they do, sell the farms? You can’t segregate the types of diversity, because they all work together.”

Llewellyn grew up in Bellevue, got a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Washington and an MBA from Seattle University. After working in the recreation-oriented business, he moved to Bainbridge in 1979 and started building boats, later going into home-building.

“But I find it laughable when people call me a developer,” he said. “It’s just me and one or two other guys – I don’t average one home a year.”

Llewellyn said what may be perceived as a pro-development bias on his part is actually more of a realization that the council’s powers are limited by state laws, which limit the city’s ability to interfere with property development.

“A lot of people want to preserve their neighbors’ property, but those people have rights too,” he said.

Llewellyn knows that some questions have been raised about the fact that his wife Chris is running for mayor, but he does not see a problem because the jobs are distinct, with the council making policy and the mayor executing it.

“Anyone who knows us knows that we both have minds of our own,” he said. “Although I’d love to tell her how to run the various departments, I don’t think she’d listen to me any more than to anyone else.”