Mercer Island coming to grips with growth. From: The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA) | Date: August 9, 2007 | COPYRIGHT 2007 The Seattle Times. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.  All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group.Copyright information

Byline: Amy Roe

Aug. 9--Downtown development and traffic congestion have emerged as hot issues in the Aug. 21 primary race for the only open seat on the Mercer Island City Council.

Four political newcomers -- Bob Bersos, Mike Cero, Jon Friedman and Maureen Judge -- are running for the Position 3 seat that since 1999 has been held by Sven Goldmanis, who is not seeking re-election.

All the candidates expressed concern over development in the downtown core, where several large, mixed-used residential buildings have sprung up in the past couple of years. Some of those ...