With days to go till the official Election Day on Tuesday, but 87 percent of Seattle ballots not returned yet, it’s clear many voters are still making up their minds, so we’re continuing our series of stories looking at City Council candidates, with a few questions beyond the ones you’ve heard them answer at forums. You’ll see the ones we’ve already published in our Politics archive; right now, from the race for Position 8, which Richard McIver is leaving, we look at Jordan Royer:

By Kathy Mulady
Reporting for West Seattle Blog

Jordan Royer says he wants to give families and small-business owners a voice on the Seattle City Council.

“There aren’t many people on the city council who have kids in public schools. The people who are paying the bills don’t have a seat at the table,” he said.

Royer, a 43-year-old North Seattle resident, is vice president at the Pacific Merchant Shipping Association. He has two daughters in public schools in Seattle.

Royer said his main emphasis will be on bringing common sense to government.

Instead of hiring more city staff to help small-business owners navigate the city’s complex tax and fee structure, Jordan proposes just making the system simpler. Business owners shouldn’t be caught off guard by big increases in garbage or utility rates, he said. He wants fewer managers in offices and more workers on the street.

Royer knows City Hall from the inside. He is the son of former mayor Charley Royer. He worked in the mayor’s office under both Paul Schell and Greg Nickels.

Still, there is much that surprises him, like the city’s recent experiment in removing some garbage cans from city parks.

“Families use parks a lot. Garbage cans in parks are a basic public service,” he said.

Royer said most of his knowledge and experience in West Seattle has focused on the Delridge and White Center communities where he worked for the mayor’s office on drug, crime and gang issues.

However, he also has fond memories of childhood excursions to Alki Beach, which he recalls always felt “a little exciting and exotic.” The trip had to include a stop at Spud. As an adult, Royer heads to West Seattle Golf Course whenever he can for a little relaxation.

“It is my favorite public golf course, he said.

Getting West Seattle-specific on three hot-button issues:

Q: How do you perceive West Seattle’s transportation challenges, and what can be done to solve them?

ROYER: West Seattle is essentially an island. It needs some sort of light rail service. When I opposed the monorail, it was because I didn’t want two separate rail systems.

Now we need to increase bus service to West Seattle because of what is happening with The Viaduct. We are really asking West Seattle to deal with a lot by taking the viaduct away. The tunnel is the only viable option for freight and traffic. Taking away the viaduct without an alternate route would just cause traffic jams on the waterfront.

Q: A massive amount of development is planned in West Seattle. How do we keep our hometown feel, but on the other hand, bring some jobs here so everyone doesn’t have to commute?

ROYER: It can be done well, with a lot of input from neighbors. The Gateway Project needs to have a lot of good public space and lots of housing. I think density, if done right, is a net benefit. With more people, more amenities follow to serve those people. Density isn’t the enemy of neighborhood character.

West Seattle has great business districts. People who live there spend their dollars there, that is a good thing. Most jobs are going to be retail, but you also have Nucor Steel and jobs on the waterfront. Hanging onto the industrial land puts West Seattle in a good position to take advantage of the green revolution for industry.

It seems like West Seattle should have a hospital. What happens if there is an earthquake and the bridge goes down? We have a police precinct there, now we need a hospital.

Q: The jail issue touches many neighborhoods. What should we do?

ROYER: I am absolutely opposed to a new jail. The problem is the misdemeanors that cycle in and out. We aren’t solving the problem. We need to get to the core reason people getting in trouble with the law and deal with those issues. We have to find a way to deal with the problem or we will just continue to re-arrest them. Having (former police chief Gil) Kerlikowske as the drug czar will help. We have to treat the drug problem as epidemiology – a health issue. It is like a bomb going off in a family’s house when there is a drug problem.

Royer’s website is at jordanroyer.com. He was not one of the two candidates in the Position 8 race endorsed by West Seattle’s biggest political group, the 34th District Democrats – they favored David Miller (WSB story here) and Robert Rosencrantz (WSB story here). Our candidate reports will continue; be sure to get your ballot into the mail or a drop box by 8 pm Tuesday. Find our archived coverage of all political races and issues here, newest to oldest.