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Burien retreat urges council members to act as ‘community connectors’ while leaving official media comments to mayoral spokespeople
Summary
At a full-day retreat Apr. 3, Burien staff told council members their role as community connectors is valuable but reminded them that only the mayor (or deputy mayor in the mayor’s absence) should speak for the council; staff offered a process for consistent constituent follow-up and regular summaries from paid community connectors.
At a special Burien City Council retreat on April 3, communications staff urged council members to embrace their informal role as “community connectors” while following clear rules for official media statements.
Devin, the city’s communications and engagement manager, told the council the mayor — or the deputy mayor if the mayor is absent — is the designated spokesperson when the council speaks as a body. “The mayor and or the deputy mayor in the absence of the mayor,” Devin said, describing the office’s role in official council communications.
Staff also described a paid community connectors program that deploys multilingual liaisons to reach Spanish-, Vietnamese- and other-language communities and recommended more regular summaries of connector activity. “Our community connectors are wonderful community members that we pay to go out into the community and do active community engagement,” Devin said, urging council members to ask staff for periodic summaries of connector outreach.
Council members pressed staff on how to respond to constituents who contact them directly without creating impermissible serial discussions among council members. Staff recommended including the city manager on early correspondence so the manager and leadership team are aware of requests and can route them appropriately. That approach, staff said, reduces the risk of accidental serial meetings while ensuring constituents get timely responses.
Council members and staff agreed on several practical next steps: (1) staff will provide templates and guidance for how council members may acknowledge constituent contacts without implying policy commitments, (2) staff will explore routine connector summaries for council, and (3) staff will publish clearer guidance on when and how community groups can request proclamations or formal recognition.
The communications session was presented as information and practice guidance rather than a formal policy vote. Staff said they would return with options for consistent implementation and a public-facing explanation of the process for requesting proclamations or other recognitions.
