In a press release today, Paul Addis stated he is running for Kent City Council, position 2, because he wants to make sure Kent continues to be a place where people want to live, work, do business and raise a family. Addis believes his skillset and experience in the world of finance will allow him to be part of making Kent’s financial future stable and sustainable.

“Kent needs to budget to the projected revenue instead of budgeting to proposed expenses. This change alone would help lower the tax burden on residents and businesses. In other words the city needs to live within its means, like everyone else,” said Addis.

Addis said he believes it is an asset that he wasn’t born and raised in Kent, so his experience in community service and political action in other communities will allow him to bring the best ideas with him to city council.

Addis has been active in community service for over 40 years, going back to the mid 70s where his family lived in an inner-city mission helping the homeless in Macon, GA. Addis wants to bring that dedication to the city council.

As the CEO of a non-profit that does humanitarian work in East Africa, Addis has seen the difference that service organizations can make when people are willing to donate both their time and funds. Addis has also been active in volunteering his time and financial support to charities such as Meals on Wheels Volunteer Organizer and Construction Volunteer at Habitat for Humanity.

In the Puget Sound region, Addis has been active with charitable organizations including:

Mentor – YearUp!
Meal Server, and Systems Support – Bread of Life Mission
Meal Server – Kent Community Meals
Donor – KentHOPE
Team Coordiantor – Kent Adopt-A-Street
Funding Research – Kent Schools Foundation
Alaska Airlines’ Veteran Mentor Program
Backpack Buddies Volunteer – Kent Rotary

Addis sees the role of city councilmember as another way to serve the community using his unique set of skills and experience. It is the same perspective he carried with him as an elected PCO in the 1st Legislative District in 2013 and as the elected Vice President of the Belltown Community Council in 2014.

“To exemplify my belief that tax payer money is best spent by those who are closest to the issues I have decided that, if elected, I will donate my entire net salary from this City Council position to KentHOPE. They are a great group of compassionate and dedicated community servants helping the most vulnerable in our region,” said Addis.

Addis will not accept donations from corporations, PACs, unions, lobbyists or any special interest group. As stated on his donation web page, he will only accept donations from individuals. Addis wants to ensure that his time in office will not be tainted by any appearance of favoritism, cronyism or corruption. Addis has already returned funds that were sent to his campaign by a Kent business because of this policy.

“I believe that special interest money in politics is one of the biggest threats to the health of our political process. Until there are laws in place that prevent that type of interference in the process, the only way voters can be 100% certain that a candidate isn’t bought and sold is to refuse to accept the money in the first place. This can be difficult for a candidate to do since it takes money to be successful, but that is what makes a great representative. You must be willing to do the right thing, even if it is to your personal detriment. The only legitimate end of politics is people, and you can’t change the system if you take the money,” said Addis.

Transparency is also important to Addis. Although Addis is mini-reporting and is not required by the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) to report his funding sources or expenses, he has taken the step to post every donation and expense on his website. Addis has the following endorsements:

Joe Cimaomo – Covington City Council
Toby Nixon – Kirkland City Council
Erin Sitterley – SeaTac City Council
Davies Chirwa – President & Founder, Channel A TV
Pastor Alex Lewis – Living Word Church (Kent)
Willie Parish, Jr. – President, Bread of Life Mission

Addis looks forward to hearing the concerns of Kent neighbors as he canvasses in the community, attends events and visits he many organizations serving Kent. For more information, visit Addis4Kent.com.

[Source: press release submitted by Addis4Kent]


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