Bob Baggett this week announced his candidacy for Auburn City Council.

Baggett, who for 16 years has lived on Lea Hill with wife Patty, became an Auburn resident in 2008 upon the City’s annexation of Lea Hill. Soon after that, the City council appointed him to the Auburn Planning Commission.

Now, Baggett said, he wants to do more than just review development proposals and make recommendations to the City Council.

“I feel strongly that now is the time that I should throw my hat in the ring, kick it up a notch,” Baggett said. “I want to get in there where I can do some real good … I want to be part of the decision-making process.”

Among Baggett’s major concerns are the health of Auburn’s transportation corridors, the city’s continued economic development and the ongoing provision of health and human services.

“I know these things have been said by one candidate after another, but I don’t really see a lot of movement in those areas,” Baggett said.

Despite all the good the City’s Save the Streets program has done filling potholes and keeping streets open, too many roads and arterials are falling apart.

“Making improvements in this area will involve working closely with county, state and federal authorities, rail authorities and Auburn businesses,” Baggett said. “With all the major repairs that have to be done, it is time to take it to a higher level on many of our well-traveled roadways. I would solicit county state and federal funding whenever possible and available to lessen the burden on our taxpaying citizens.”

Of economic development, Baggett says it is “key to our effective and prosperous downtown, which is practical and beneficial to our citizens. The question is, what do you want your city to look like in 10 to 20 years?”

Baggett supported the City’s recent efforts to keep King County’s Public Health Clinic in Auburn open for at least the next two years, or until King County can find a permanent funding solution.

“Health and human services is important for everybody, and it’s especially important for our seniors and those that are less fortunate,” Baggett said. “I would strongly support initiatives that maintain and improve services that are either currently provided by the City and county or by other sources, including King County Public Health facilities.”

Baggett has a degree in organizational management from the University of San Francisco. In a 45-year career with The Boeing Co., he specialized in facilities and financial management, experience, he said, that would benefit the residents of Auburn should he be elected to the council.

Baggett is running for Position 7. Incumbent Wayne Osborne has declared that he will not seek reelection to that seat.

“I think that we’ve got a good council right now that works together. The mayor is in her second year, laying the groundwork for the next two years she is going to be in office. And I feel that with everybody working together as a team, we would get a lot accomplished,” Baggett said.

“I know a lot of what I’m looking at has to do with grants and finances and those things, so I am an advocate for getting out there and trying to find all the grants from the county, state and federal governments, or any sources of income to help pay for these things, that we can find, I don’t want to add a lot of taxes. I am really not for big government, I think we should have a transparent but a good government, one that really listens to the people it serves,” Baggett said.