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My name is Bob Hegamin. I was born in Shanghai, China on December 28, 1926 and as an American citizen, interned in the city during World II, and arrived in the U.S. at the end of November, 1945.
- U.S. Air Force 1948-1952
- Seattle University 1966
- Bachelor of Science, General Science
- Bachelor of Science, Electrical Engineering
- Seattle City Light (Retired) 1968-1989
I became a vocal critic of Seattle's government because, as a City employee, I observed its actions first hand. As an activist, I have always "been there" in the role of an investigator, exposing the abuse and incompetency of our government. But, unfortunately, it had always been after the fact. The damage had been done and we, the people, ended up paying for the mismanagement. The following are some events that have taken place and the actions I took in each case:
- City Light rate increases were unwarranted and unjustified. [I submitted options to prevent them.]
- Bond and levy measures submitted for the people's vote consistently contained misleading statements. [I provided statements for the Voters' Pamphlet exposing the statements as unfounded.]
- Agreements between the developers of both the Key Tower and Pacific Place Garage and the City were structured so the developers could avoid paying a total of $2 million in Real Estate Excise Taxes. Those agreements deliberately deprived the K-12 General Fund of $2 million. [I sought the State Auditor's opinion on both. Although his office never contacted me during the investigation, it found in favor of the City.]
- The people of Seattle paid an extra $10 million, over two years, when the City failed to recognize that the bonds sold for the Seattle 1-2-3 projects had been paid off. [I asked the State Auditor to conduct an investigation. His office assured me the funds had been properly returned to the people, although the City Council never acknowledged the overlevy nor what legislation was used to return the money. The interest on the money collected, on the other hand, was deposited into a "catch-all" pocket containing funds used to pay off bonds. At least, that's what the City said.]
COMMUNITY SERVICES
- Member: King County Personnel Board 1990-1994
- Member: Greenwood Community Service Center Advisory Board 1981-1983
- Member: Seattle Urban League Scholarship Committee 1979-1981
- Member: State Board for Community College Education 1977-1979
- Chair: PROJECT CARITAS (Community Action, Remedial Instruction, Tutoring and Assistance Service) 1973-1975
- Member: City Light - Affirmative Action Advisory Committee 1972
- Chair: City Employees Human Relations Forum 1969-1970