Above: Janine Gates
For Immediate Release: April 27, 2009
Contact: Janine Gates (360) 791-7736 or Ja9citycouncil@aol.com
Community Organizer Janine Gates Enters City Council Race
Business owner and long-time community organizer Janine Gates has announced that she is running for Olympia City Council Position #5. Her website address is http://www.oly-wa.us/Janine4Olympia.
Gates’ top priorities will be to improve council responsiveness to citizen activism and restore public confidence in the council’s decision-making process. “We have so many smart people in Olympia who offer their expertise but are often made to feel they are the opposition. If elected, I would welcome and encourage citizen participation, respect the information gathered and work as a team toward a common vision for our community,” says Gates.
Gates says she will be attentive to small business concerns and will work to pursue incentives to help downtown businesses succeed. She is also interested in actively involving the public in the update of Olympia’s Comprehensive Plan.
Gates is self-employed as a photographer, www.janinegatesphotography.com, and caregiver for the elderly. She is a member of the Thurston County Chamber of Commerce and a past member of the Lacey and Shelton Chambers of Commerce. Gates is also the volunteer president of the South Puget Environmental Education Clearinghouse (SPEECH) which publishes the South Sound Green Pages. As a freelance journalist, she publishes a local news blog, http://www.janineslittlehollywood.blogspot.com.
Gates organized the successful “Envision Downtown Olympia,” forum with varied stakeholders last June. She plans to hold regular information gathering meetings with the public.
Gates says she opposed increasing heights on the isthmus in downtown Olympia from the very beginning. “I have lived downtown or near downtown for most of my 25 years in Olympia. I support significant housing downtown, but not on the isthmus. We can, and will, find more appropriate locations for housing,” says Gates. She was the first citizen to testify in front of the Olympia City Council against the proposed rezone. Gates supports Senator Karen Fraser’s isthmus-related legislative efforts.
Gates graduated from The Evergreen State College in 1987 with a B.A. in Communications and Community Development. Gates has previously worked for state agencies and the Legislature. She has two children.
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