There are a few new faces this year on the Maple Leaf Community Council’s Executive Board, so we’d thought we’d help you get to know them a little bit, starting with Joshua Newman, who was elected to join the board in April and just last month was elected vice president.
Full name: Joshua Richard Newman
Kids?: My kids are three and 18-months, and are 19 months apart. Both were born born at home actually, the older one in our apartment in Wedgwood and the younger one at our home here in Maple Leaf.
Current occupation: I’m currently an Industrial Engineer at Boeing, on 787 Final Assembly in Everett. Having graduated with an IE degree from the UW, I knew about the job opportunities at Boeing for a long before I seriously considered joining. There are benefits and trade-offs working for such a large company, but it is wonderful being at such an iconic Washington and American company.
When did you move to Maple Leaf and why? We moved here in October of 2008 when we bought our house. We were shocked to find a house in our price range in Maple Leaf, but it is very old, very drafty and small. The large yard, neighborhood and specific location sold us. We have great neighbors, are five minutes from the park, and are still close to my partner’s family in Viewridge.
What current Maple Leaf issue are you most excited about? The park and bike lanes. The park is just going to be phenomenal. Donna (Hartmann-Miller) and the various groups really did an outstanding job organizing and working for the neighborhood. And soon we’ll have new bike lanes to enable people to ride their bike to this great new park.
What is one thing you hope to accomplish while on the executive board? Helping Maple Leaf transition from a kind of “suburban” neighborhood into one that is denser, but without losing the great neighborhood feel and community it has. We’re in a great location, between Northgate and Roosevelt, and at the top of a hill. We just need to continue being a great place to live, within easy walking, biking or busing distance to those places and easy access to the rest of the city.
By the way, if you’d like to meet Newman and the other new members of the council, the next meeting of the executive board is at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 17, at Olympic View Community Church, 425 N.E. 95th St.
