Dennis Higgins won’t seek re-election to the Kent City Council.
Higgins will complete his second four-year term at the end of this year. Council members are elected at-large, but Higgins serves in Position No. 4.
“It is an honor and privilege to be in public service, and I’m very proud of what we’ve achieved in my time on the council,” Higgins said in an email to the Kent Reporter. “The city of Kent is in much better shape now than it was eight years ago.”
Higgins ran unopposed for the council in 2013. He defeated Dana Ralph in 2009 for an open seat.
“After a lot of thought, I’ve decided not to run for re-election this fall, in order to spend more time with my family,” Higgins said.
Higgins, who works for King County as a Geographic Information System (GIS) client services manager, served as council president in 2012 and 2013.
“It has been a busy eight years,” he said. “I’m most proud that the council tackled a serious budget and debt problem, made worse by the Great Recession, and we restored Kent’s bond rating. We fixed the city’s utilities and enterprise budgets. Much-needed street repairs got underway, and we widened SE 256th Avenue.
“We protected our city’s economy by repairing many miles of Green River levees, and enhanced the environment by creating side-channels and wetlands. We hired more police, and through Chief (Ken) Thomas’ leadership, our police department made many new connections with our diverse community. We fought for the help our city deserves from the region, the county and the state.”
Plenty of work remains ahead this year for Higgins and the council.
“In the 11 months left in my term, I hope to work with my council colleagues to craft a sustainable parks funding plan,” he said. “We must attack the serious backlog of parks maintenance before it is too late.
“A railroad quiet zone is crucial to the future of downtown Kent and I hope the city will continue to make progress. Despite our work on street maintenance there is much more to do and many capital projects in need of funding. The police headquarters remains far too small for our growing department.”
Even though Higgins won’t be on the council after this year, he doesn’t plan to disappear from the public spotlight.
“There are so many good things happening and I can’t wait to get involved,” he said. “I will be around and active, and someday soon I hope to serve the public again as an elected official.”
Higgins enjoyed his years as a council member.
“From the bottom of my heart – thank you to the voters of Kent for the opportunity to serve you on the council,” he said.
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