I have spent my professional career as a lawyer representing clients in complex business transactions. I have also been engaged in civic life as a trustee in the King County Library System, as well as in our Jewish community and its social service organizations. From this work, I know what kind of people get results. Dan Grausz, our deputy mayor, is one of those persons — a fact that he has proven time and again during his years on the City Council.

Some politicians posture, grandstand and spend most of their time criticizing. They get all the press coverage, but when they walk away from the microphones, the problems are no closer to being solved.

Dan approaches every problem as a challenge in search of a solution. He believes that he was elected to the City Council not to score points or position himself for higher office, but to come up with new ideas that will make a difference for our community.  He has done it and continues to do it whether it has been our new Community Center, the new South end fire station, the PEAK, assistance for our schools, park funding, improved ballfields, new trails, open space acquisitions, Youth Theatre Northwest, city finances — the list goes on.

We are now faced with the I-90 tolling fight. Dan has not been the person out there trying to dazzle people with one-liners. He knows that if we are to prevail in stopping tolling, it takes the ability to find solutions and work with others rather than to demonize the people who we need to negotiate with as the tolling decision will ultimately be made by state and federal officials.   That is what works in the private sector, where Dan got his experience.  Dan has demonstrated time and again that it also works in the public sector.

For the continued improvement of our community, we need to keep Dan on the City Council this November.

Rob Spitzer