Malchow resigns as mayor, relinquishes council seat

A second member of Sammamish City Council has left this year.

Mayor Christie Malchow announced her resignation on Wednesday.

Effective June 12, the resignation will end Malchow’s term two years early. She was reelected to the council for a second term in 2019.

Her resignation also reduces the anti-development faction to two seats – a stunning turn given this faction had controlled city council at the beginning of the year.

In her resignation letter, Malchow cited conflicts between her family life and her work on the council as her reasons for leaving.

“I’m burning the candle at both ends, and in the middle,” she said in her letter, referencing both family and city activities she missed due to her obligations to the other. “In the wake of losing both my parents, my family and my ability to be involved more fully with my kids is no longer something I’m willing to put on a backburner for the Council.”

Malchow was also losing support as she tried to straddle the divide between the two factions on the council. She campaigned on an anti-development platform, wanting the city to tighten concurrency rules to prevent development and to continue fighting the state’s Growth Management Hearing Board and former mayor Don Gerend in the courtroom over development issues.

However, Malchow also voted for the investigation and subsequent separation agreement for former city manager David Rudat. In March, she voted to increase Sammamish’s 2044 housing target. She faced a barrage of condemnation from Councilmember Karen Moran for some of her votes.

The city council will have 90 days beginning June 12 to appoint someone to fill the vacancy.

The council will also have to elevate a new mayor amongst themselves, which it plans to do on June 21. Kali Clark currently serves as deputy mayor.