Mayor Declines To Reappoint Former Planning Commission Chair Despite Commission Vacancy

Update 2/3/2026 @ 1714hrs: This story has been updated to include the email sent to Planning Commission members Madlyn Larson, Sam Castic (Chair), and David Kleweno, and to clarify that it wasn't sent to Janne Kaje (Vice Chair) as previously reported. Sam Castic commented that he didn't receive the request (srcastic@gmail.com). There's no contact information for committee members on the city website. None of the aforementioned commission members responded. 

Summary:

LAKE FOREST PARK, Wash. — Mayor Tom French declined to reappoint Ashton McCartney to the Lake Forest Park Planning Commission after she was selected to complete a temporary City Council term, filling the seat of the late Lorri Bodi’s city council seat. McCartney previously chaired the commission during the Comprehensive Plan update. The mayor did not explain the decision or respond to requests for comment. The commission currently has a vacant seat and is working on significant proposed changes to the planning code, including reductions or eliminations of certain parking requirements.

Before Ashton McCartney was selected among several other candidates to fill the remainder of the late Lorri Bodi’s city council seat, she served on the LFP Planning Commission and was the Chairperson during a recent Comprehensive Plan Update.

According to the city website, commissioners apply and are appointed by the Mayor to serve three-year terms. Ashton’s first term on the commission was cut short when she was selected from among several other candidates to fulfill councilperson Lorri Bodi’s seat on the city council after she unexpectedly passed away last April. Lorri also served as the city’s deputy mayor at the time of her death.

At the completion of Ashton’s council term in December 2025, she was widely encouraged by city leadership and peers to return to the Planning Commission and resubmitted the application for processing and approval. In an unexplained change of events in mid-January, the Mayor decided to no longer support her in this role and declined to return her to the Planning Commission, despite months-long vacancies in two of the nine positions.

When reached for comment, city planning commission co-member Cherie Finazzo said she was taken by surprise. “I thought she would be returning…I enjoyed working with Ashton on the commission before she was selected to fill in for Lorri Bodi, and I'm surprised that she hasn't been offered her place on the commission back since there's still an unfilled seat”.

The Mayor has recently appointed Paul (Marty) Ross for one of the two vacancies. According to public records, Paul (Marty) Ross filed a formal election complaint against Ashton, who was running against a candidate that Paul (Marty) Ross endorsed, according to Matt Muilenburg’s campaign website, as she ran for city council as a write-in candidate for failure to file an F-1 report, an oversight in onboarding. Ashton promptly responded to the PDC complaint on the same day, addressing the concerns, and no further action was taken due to the unique circumstances and prompt compliance.

Mayor French did not respond to a request for comment, and it's not the first time he’s ignored a request from this news site without so much as a courtesy “no comment.” A tactic seen more frequently as the country becomes more divisive, but it would seem to be one of the mayor’s duties to respond to media, even if the topic is uncomfortable. Or appoint a city public information officer. LFP voters deserve more.

Recently, the mayor sent a critical, vitriolic response after the stated publication deadline for this article related to censoring public comments during city council meetings. We’ve also been in contact with other unnamed LFP voters who’ve experienced the same lack of response from the mayor. Some are significantly active in community issues.

We also reached out to the Chair, Vice Chair, and one other Planning Commission member for comment, but didn’t receive a response. Major planning code changes are planned for this year, so if ignoring media becomes a pattern, the voters deserve better.

Effective communication with the media and public, even when the topic is unpopular, isn’t just one of the mayor’s duties; it helps build public trust and transparency as the mayor serves as the face of the city.

This poses a critical question: why would the mayor not support restoring a proven, thoughtful city leader who can still legally return to her role, has hands-on experience to contribute meaningful work to the commission, and also brings a diverse background that our city, as established in its bylaws, wants represented? While also filling a role that has remained vacant due lack of volunteers. Perhaps Ashton's convictions in supporting LFP’s values, rather than turning into carbon copies of our neighboring cities, are why she is being marginalized.

As a city that supposedly values diversity, equity, and inclusion, it's disheartening to see such a poor and potentially political decision made by current leadership. Especially considering that our city actively showed its support for Ashton by awarding her the most write-in votes in our city’s history of elections. Why would we discourage volunteerism and civic engagement in a community that is already having trouble filling vacancies on key city working groups?

Public records show that Madlyn Larson was re-appointed to her planning commission position after running and losing an election bid and has been appointed for consecutive terms without a one-year break between terms.

This now leaves the commission with five males and three females, only one person of color member, and a lack of age diversity. City Ordinance 25-1310, created in part by the planning commission, states in part:

“WHEREAS, during the course of developing the proposed ordinance amending LFPMC, various means of public outreach were used including, but not limited to: public meetings; a middle housing webpage and background document digital library; inclusion of community groups; presentations at and feedback from the numerous commissions, boards, and committees associated with the city; and widespread distribution of notifications of public hearings; and…”

The commission, already lacking gender, age, and ethnic diversity, has lost the only other female person of color formerly on the commission. Notes from a former council meeting state that “House Bill 1220 requires that DEI be examined as part of the comprehensive planning update process, recognizing some measures of racially disparate impacts, such as the rate of home ownership and overcrowding.” This has to do with those who are impacted by planning decisions, so it seems to make sense to strive for diversity on the planning commission, not the opposite.

The City Code Volunteer Commission System states that commissioner terms are three years, with a maximum of two terms separated by a one-year break, “except in extenuating circumstances where the city council finds it is in the best interest of the city to allow for reappointment for an additional term.” It’s unclear why the city council is required to approve additional terms, but apparently, the mayor can unilaterally terminate a term at his discretion. Additionally, at least one current commissioner is serving a third consecutive term at the Mayor's request and with the council's approval.

BIG REVISIONS COMING TO PLANNING CODE

The commission members were recently asked whether they’d be willing to meet twice a month rather than once, due to significant changes to the building code under consideration, including reductions or eliminations of parking requirements. Unnamed sources tell us that a small number of people have encouraged the Planning Commission to consider eliminating parking requirements in our city. Several City Council members have expressed similar interest. This is further documented in the Planning Commission Work Plan:

This is moving forward without any  effort to evaluate the real impacts on our neighborhoods, pedestrian safety, or our critical areas. If any of this is concerning to you, make your thoughts known. We all need to demand thoughtful, well-reasoned work from our City Council rather than half-baked pet initiatives that leave community voice out of the equation. You can reach out to Mayor Tom French at tfrench@cityoflfp.gov. All city council members can be reached at: citycouncil@cityoflfp.gov.