West Seattle Blog… | Lora Radford leaving West Seattle Junction Association after 5+ years as executive director, but ‘not going to be far away’

From Tracy Record
West Seattle blog editor

Since West Seattle hasn’t been a city since 1907, it doesn’t have its own mayor.

But there are mayors. Few have worked more tirelessly than in recent years Lora Radford.

After five and a half years as managing director of West Seattle Junction Association, She just announced that she will serve the West Seattle ward in a different role, serving as a liaison in the ward Sonic transit‘s next phase of light rail planning.

Her involvement with Junction actually dates back more than a decade before she moved into the cozy Junction Association office across the street West Seattle Senior Citizens Center.

She served on the WSJA board of directors for 13 years as the owner of one of The Junction’s distinctive small businesses. Hot wire coffee.

(Riding in a Coffee Cup as Hotwire Entry in the 2012 West Seattle Grand Parade)

As the owner of Hotwire, she was also a civic master and founded the Outdoor movies in West Seattle Series that gathered crowds in the common courtyard of the coffee house on Saturday evenings for many summers. (As a Hotwire owner, she was also the first entrepreneur to buy advertising on WSB when we started selling space in the fall of 2007 to see if that post could be a business.)

To say that her five and a half years at the helm of WSJA have been “eventful” would be an understatement, from growing events like Summer Fest, Harvest Fest and Hometown Holidays to moving leased parking spaces from unsustainable to 100 percent dealer-funded Community costs shared. But the biggest “event” of all was one that no one could foresee – the pandemic.

“I was impressed with how the West Seattle community has shown itself to local businesses,” said Radford. “I remember the day we closed The Junction, in the pouring rain, when I stood and thought, ‘We have to close the district, what are we going to do?’ We started putting up signs letting people know they can pick up food [restaurant takeout] … People just showed up and it gave us hope to keep going. ”It wasn’t just restaurants – retailers found ways to stay afloat too. “People delivered things to their doorstep … that’s how we survived the pandemic and the bridging because West Seattle knew they had to support us” – to make sure the “accidental island” didn’t lose its local businesses.

To complement online / takeaway / curb sales, Radford set up a local business aid fund – “remember, this was before the PPP” [federal Paycheck Protection Program loans] and City Scholarships ”- thinking they could raise maybe $ 25,000. “I thought if I could give hope to these business owners with a small check, I could hand these checks to see joy and hope on the faces of small business owners …” At this point in our conversation, Radford wiped away his tears and remembered how she found that she “had to hold them when they cried because they didn’t know what would happen the next day.”

The community has shown itself to be powerful: so far, the community contributions to the relief fund totaled $ 111,000 (the fund is still open to donations). “That was incredible… we all didn’t know what was coming next, but being able to keep these doors open was inspiring.” Another idea to support the dealers was the sale of tote bags and boxes as part of virtual / hybrid events like Hometown Holidays, Harvest Fest, Valentine’s Day – “a way for us to bring The Junction to the doorsteps of our community in West Seattle, these programs.” So far, they have earned participating retailers $ 95,000. “We were able to offer the joy of shopping in The Junction (without leaving the house) … the excitement of having a volunteer bring the shopping bag to the front door and people being grateful to receive things from The Junction.”

The volunteer program is another achievement Radford is proud of – she was the only full-time employee with the WSJA and so many of the events and programs were conducted on a volunteer basis. The Junction has been aggressively soliciting aid and people of all ages have responded. “I love seeing the volunteers come together and create exciting events for West Seattle – I am so grateful to them before and during the pandemic. Without them we would not have been able to achieve what we have achieved in the last 5 1/2 years. “

(Radford with the Mayor, on tour in 2018)

The job also had challenges. Helping traders fight crime, vandalism and street clutter has meant a lot of behind-the-scenes work. SPD, LEAD, and the city (with which she has worked on many other subjects). And then … there is the parking lot, the most important issue of all. The Junction Association leases the four lots; They are owned by a consortium of shareholders called Trusted Properties in West Seattle. The WSJA has to bear the property tax bill, which has risen sharply in recent years due to the value of the property as a future development property. Earlier this year, after years of deliberation, the lots were changed from free to $ 2 / hour. “The change to parking from 100 percent dealer funded to ask the community for help was important. It gave us financial air to breathe. ”Unresolved, the future of the parcels. WSJA collaborated Living with community roots because the organization, which specializes in affordable housing, submitted an offer for the parcels supported by the city. WSTP didn’t accept it, says Radford after attending the consortium’s recent shareholders’ meeting, but neither directly rejecting it.

What happens next is up to someone else. Radford has interviewed potential candidates for her job, but there is still no final decision on her successor. It was an “easy transition” when she took the job in 2016 while she was “in the middle of” selling Hotwire and studying Nonprofit Management in one too University of Washington Program, but this time there is no obvious successor. Good candidates, she says, and hopes that she can take on responsibility this month. As for her future, she lives in West Seattle and expects to work mostly from home, which is planned as a long-term temporary gig – maybe a year and a half to help the community with the environmental statement process. “I find public transportation is an important conversation.” She also notes that the EIS process “is critical to the final alignment of the expanded system and the final placement of the junction station”.

Her time as Executive Director of the WSJA included highlights such as the work as Grand Marshal of the West Seattle Grand Parade and be chosen Westsider of the year until West Seattle Chamber of Commerce. But Radford says, “My favorite things to do are what we’ve achieved together as a community – because it takes all of us in West Seattle to be successful. I just want to underline my gratitude for being a part of this ‘random island’ and let people know that I won’t be far away. “

Lora Radford leaving West Seattle Junction Association after 5+ years as executive director, but ‘not going to be far away’

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