Federal Way has two distinguished candidates for our first-ever elected mayor position.

Current city council member and past appointed deputy mayor Jim Ferrell is thoughtful and deliberative. As a King County Senior Deputy Prosecutor, he runs a division protecting women, men and children from continued domestic abuse. Jim has been volunteering in the community for the past 15 years.

As a former state representative and businessman, Skip Priest offers informed judgment. He has been a council member, appointed mayor and has been active in the community for the past 20 years.

Jim has a plan for retaining our much-needed police officers and articulates it without reservation.

Jim has a plan to retain and attract businesses, which in part includes promoting Federal Way.

Jim believes the future of the downtown core is vertical, as space is limited. But, not now. He does not support the 45-story towers. He does support creating destination areas for residents and non-residents alike.

Skip has not articulated a plan for retaining police officers or businesses, or what his position on the 45-story tower is. Skip’s website is devoid of his positions on issues.

Skip does plan on bringing more unions to Federal Way, citing the three here as a reason to expand this sector and, as one person wrote on Skip’s campaign website, “I understand the importance of this mayor’s race and will through (sic) my support at you. I have a lot of connections to one of the largest labor unions in the city. We need a leader at City Hall. Let me know what I can do to help you and your campaign.”

Skip has reversed himself a few times on hiring a highly paid city manager. Jim has publicly stated many times that he will not hire anyone to do the job he is voted into.

Jim put his reputation and his career on the line to move Federal Way forward. I respect that and, even more, I respect his vision for the city.

Kelly Maloney, Federal Way