Meet the Candidates: Klahanie Board Election 2026

Strong communities are built on engaged neighbors and thoughtful leadership. As we approach the 2026 Board election, we’re pleased to introduce the four candidates who have stepped forward to serve: Connie Wan, John Perkins, Scott Leist, and Ralph Stamberger.

Each candidate brings their own perspective, experience, and vision for Klahanie’s future. Here we offer an opportunity to learn more about who they are, what matters to them, and how they hope to contribute to our community. An informed vote is one of the most important ways we shape the direction of Klahanie together.

 Connie Wan 

Candidate Statement 

I am honored to submit my candidacy to continue serving on the Klahanie HOA Board and humbly ask for your vote. 

Klahanie is the place I proudly call home. I raised my family here: my son attended Challenger, Beaver Lake, and Skyline—a true Klahanie kid. As a long-time resident of this beautiful community, I have been consistently and actively involved in community volunteering and HOA service over the past decade, including prior Board experience and volunteers experience with F&O Committee, Architecture Committee, Fine Committee, and neighborhood watch program. 

As a practicing attorney and Founder and CEO of Seattle Gummy Company, with a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences, my professional background brings a practical and disciplined lens to Board service. Executive experience in strategic planning, operational oversight, financial stewardship, and long-term risk management—combined with an active legal practice—provides a strong foundation in governance, contracts, compliance, and fiduciary decision-making, all directly applicable to HOA leadership. 

Home is a harbor: a place that should feel safe, well-maintained, welcoming, and nurturing. Klahanie’s extensive green spaces, trails, and activity facilities are central to our shared quality of life. Caring for these amenities, our environment, and our common assets is essential—not only for everyday enjoyment, but for protecting long-term property values for homeowners, including you and me. 

Equally important is caring for the people who make up our community. Each week, as I walk along Klahanie Boulevard, bike through the neighborhood, or run around the Yellow Lake Trail, your friendly nods, smiling faces, and lighthearted “hellos” are constant reminders of what makes this community so special. As a Board member, it will be my mission to continue fostering a respectful, diverse, and relaxed neighborhood culture where homeowners feel heard and valued. 

I bring a balanced and practical approach to governance, grounded in fiscal responsibility. Homeowners are the true owners of Klahanie. I deeply respect the fiduciary duty entrusted to the Board—to safeguard the HOA’s financial health, protect shared assets, and ensure sustainable, responsible and transparent decision-making—while also respecting individual property rights in service of the community’s collective welfare. 

Above all, I believe the Board exists to serve the community—not to govern it. My goal is thoughtful stewardship, transparency, and collaborative problem-solving in support of Klahanie today and for years to come. 

Thank you for your trust and consideration. 

Connie WAN Ph.D. J.D. 

John Perkins 

Candidate Statement 

My family and I moved to Klahanie in 2023 and quickly came to appreciate the welcoming neighbors, shared amenities, and strong sense of community that make this a great place to live. My wife and I have a 13-year-old daughter who attends Beaver Lake Middle School, and like many families here, we care deeply about maintaining Klahanie as a place where families can put down roots. In April 2025, I was appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Board of Directors, and I am running for election to continue serving the community with transparency, accountability, and steady leadership. 

Since joining the board, I have focused on helping homeowners better understand what the board does and how decisions affect the community. I supported efforts to strengthen communication between the board and residents, helped launch the Renew Klahanie Committee to evaluate our facilities and long-term needs, and worked to make board operations more accessible through regular updates, the Klahanie newsletter, and educational initiatives such as HOA 101. 

Professionally, I bring more than 28 years of leadership and communications experience working with large, complex organizations. I served 25 years in the Navy as a Public Affairs Officer, leading strategic communications for federal, state, and local leaders on long-term planning, infrastructure, and public engagement, most recently supporting a national workforce program for the U.S. Navy. That experience has reinforced the importance of collaboration, disciplined planning, and clear communication, all of which I bring to my work on the Klahanie board. 

I believe homeowners deserve a board that listens, explains its decisions clearly, and earns trust through transparency. I supported the 2025 bylaw amendments that restored homeowner approval for major spending and borrowing decisions, reinforcing the principle that significant financial choices should involve the community. If elected, I will continue to focus on responsible financial stewardship, open communication, and thoughtful long-term planning for our shared assets. Klahanie’s facilities and amenities require careful attention, and homeowners deserve to understand what projects are being considered, why they matter, and how they fit into a long-term plan. 

I would be honored to earn your support and continue serving the Klahanie community. 

Scott Leist 

Candidate Statement 

My name is Scott Leist. I am a 26-year resident of Klahanie living in The Heights. Professionally, I have been a police officer and lawyer. Over the last 2 decades, I built my own criminal law practice locally but also regularly work in the developing world (mostly in east Africa) on long-term justice related projects helping governments enhance and improve their judicial systems and protect the human rights of their citizens. I also volunteer on the Board of Trustees for Eastside Catholic. 

I previously served on the Klahanie board from 2019 – 2023. During my tenure, I created the Finance and Operations Committee and assured that we completed a thorough financial audit (which hadn’t been done for the prior two years). My focus was on financial health and accountability and, accordingly, while I served we resolved almost $300,000 in delinquent and uncollected dues and fees. I was committed to hiring top tier staff, who would preserve and increase access to community amenities while minimizing dues impact for residents. 

But, most importantly, I viewed my role on the Board as a facilitator for open community dialogue, idea sharing and feedback. Even if I disagreed with a resident or stakeholder, I never shut down a discussion, refused to discuss an agenda item or excluded anyone from participation. In fact, if you disagreed with me, you almost certainly received an invitation to join a committee so your could put your perspectives and passions to use. 

The following are the key issues I see for the Klahanie Board in the next several years: 

• Create an atmosphere for a positive and healthy community, offering vibrant opportunities for residents to provide ideas, feedback and volunteer expertise. This will include expanding committee membership, increasing time during monthly board meetings for audience questions and feedback as well as assuring timely responses to emails sent to the staff and board. 

• Increase effective financial stewardship of our community resources through the rebuilding of the Finance and Operations Committee and ensuring that every significant financial decision made by the staff/BOD (Board of Directors) will be reviewed by this committee prior to any BOD action/vote. 

• Convene a Sub-association Committee for our ten sub-associations (Barclay Square, Tanglewood, Sierra, Sundance etc.) Currently, 22% of our neighborhood (691 housing units) live within these condo communities and pay additional significant dues to their sub-associations as well as Klahanie dues. Klahanie needs to consider these residents more, discuss partnering with these sub-associations for support of shared amenities and brainstorm ways to reduce the dues burden for sub-association residents. 

• Create a semi-permanent Bylaw/CCR Committee (governing documents) to assure that the Klahanie HOA is in compliance with changing Washington State laws regarding HOA management. The present Board enacted significant bylaw revisions a few weeks ago with no community/committee engagement. New laws began to take effect in 2024 and will be completely effective Jan. 1, 2028 and, at the moment, our Bylaws are not compliant. 

• Broaden facility oversight to assure upkeep and maintenance of our aging community amenities. While much of the recent focus has been on the HOA office and pools, other community amenities require some focus. For example, the neighborhood sign near QFC remains unfinished. We have aging neighborhood monument signs. Additionally, the Yellow Lake dock will require significant investment in the next few years just to preserve it. 

• Welcome all opinions and ideas – we are a diverse community with about 150 new families moving in a year. We need to balance the needs of longtime residents and new neighbors by doing all we can to protect homeowner values, create opportunities to meet and engage with old and new friends and make our common spaces appealing to facilitate all of these goals. 

Thank you for your consideration. Our family has been grateful to call Klahanie home for 26 of the nearly 50 years our neighborhood has existed. With your vote, I commit to helping steward it well for current and new neighbors for the years ahead. 

Scott 

Ralph Stamberger 

Candidate Statement 

To the Members of the Klahanie Homeowners Association, 

I am writing to express my interest in serving on the Board of Directors for our Klahanie Homeowners Association. As a 12-year resident here in Klahanie, I have been committed to the success, safety, integrity, and the future prosperity of our community, and I believe I can bring valuable experience, steady leadership, and practical problem-solving skills to the board. 

From 2017 to 2025, I served on the board of a local community-focused organization that prioritized the neighborhood and the families within the community. Our emphasis has been on “it takes a village” mantra to bring together fellow neighbors dedicated to bringing neighbors together and bringing positive outcomes through collaboration. I have also volunteered in various roles for other local clubs and organizations including Sammamish Little League, Eastside FC, Big Star Performing Arts, and Skyline High School—including a few years announcing Skyline soccer, despite having what some call “a face for radio.” Each of these roles taught me many valuable community relations management lessons. Most notably, how to collaborate with diverse groups, manage differing viewpoints, and help organizations make decisions that align with both short-term needs and long-term vision. 

Professionally, I am a Sales & Marketing leader with various CPG companies and extensive experience in: 

• Strategic planning and brand building 

• Complex negotiations 

• Developing both short- and long-term solutions 

• Managing and building teams 

• Using facts, data, and statistics to create balanced, mutually beneficial decisions 

My approach has always been grounded in fairness, transparency, and a commitment to understanding all sides of an issue before recommending a path forward. I believe this philosophy aligns well with the responsibilities of an HOA board member, where decisions must balance property values, fiscal responsibility, and the overall quality of life for all residents both today and for the future. 

If elected, I aim to support a community environment that is well-maintained, welcoming, and managed with clear communication and accountability. I would be honored to contribute my experience, time, and perspective to help guide the future of our neighborhood. 

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to the opportunity to serve. 

Sincerely,

Ralph Stamberger 

A big thank you to our candidates for being willing to serve our community. And thank you for staying involved. Engaged neighbors are what keep Klahanie strong.

Don’t forget to cast your vote in the 2026 Board election. Your voice truly makes a difference!