Kemper Freeman

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Kemper Freeman
Kemper Freeman at 2017 ULI Spring Meeting, Seattle.jpg
Member of the WashingtonHouseofRepresentatives
from the 48th district
In office
January 8, 1973 –December 31, 1976

Kemper Freeman Jr. is a third-generation resident of Bellevue, Washington. His grandfather, Miller Freeman, was active in state politics and public affairs, including promoting the development of a bridge connecting Seattle, Mercer Island, and Bellevue, [3] and acting as a driving force in anti-Japanese discrimination, agitating for what he called a "white man's Pacific coast". [6] [7] Beginning in 1907, [7] Miller Freeman was a prominent voice calling for the segregation or deportation of Japanese immigrants, whom he saw as a threat to white prosperity. [8] He founded the Anti-Japanese League of Washington in 1916 and was a vocal proponent for the state's 1921 alien land laws, the 1924 Immigration Act, and the 1942 incarceration of American citizens of Japanese ancestry in concentration camps during World War II. [6]

Freeman Jr.'s father, Frederick Kemper Freeman Sr., led the development of what is now Bellevue Square, which opened in 1946. [9] He also was involved in building Bellevue's first hospital, Overlake Hospital Medical Center. [3] Kemper Freeman Jr. was born on October 23, 1941. [1] He married Betty Austin in 1965 and has two daughters, Amy Schreck and Suzanne McQuaid. [10]

Career

In 1973, Freeman Jr. was appointed to a vacant seat in the Washington State House of Representatives as a Republican representing the 48th district. After serving for three years, he resigned from the seat to focus on his business in building and development. [11] He then began working full-time on the expansion and enclosure of Bellevue Square with his father, which re-opened in 1981. In early-1980, Freeman Jr. founded the Kemper Development Company, [1] which has overseen the continued expansion of Bellevue Square as well as development of:

In total, the three properties (Bellevue Square, Bellevue Place, Lincoln Square) makeup the Bellevue Collection, covering approximately 50 acres of land in downtown Bellevue. [3] In 2016, Bloomberg reported all of Freeman's holdings had a worth of "about $2 billion" of which Freeman and his two daughters owned a majority stake. [13]

Political involvement

Freeman Jr. often speaks out against mass transit. In 1995 and 1996, Freeman Jr. led a campaign opposing the creation of a regional transit authority which later became Sound Transit, arguing "the automobile has won". [14] [15] In 2004 and 2008, Freeman backed state initiatives to convert HOV lanes and bus lanes to general traffic. [16] [17] [18] [19]

Freeman has been a consistent opponent of Sound Transit's light rail plans. In 2002, the Freeman-backed group Sane Transit sued Sound Transit after the 1 Line was reduced in scope, alleging that a reduction in project scope required the agency to put the issue to another public vote. [20] [21] [22] In 2008, Freeman campaigned against the plan to bring light rail to downtown Bellevue, [23] and backed city council candidates in an effort to route the new light rail line alongside the I-405 freeway, away from population centers. [24] Freeman sued Sound Transit in 2009, arguing that the use of the I-90 HOV lanes for light rail was illegal. The suit was ultimately rejected after being appealed to the Washington State Supreme Court. [25] [26] In 2011, Freeman supported Tim Eyman's Initiative 1125, a proposed tolling measure containing a subtle clause prohibiting any "non-highway purpose" for I-90. [27] [28] In 2016, Freeman spent $210,000 in opposition to Sound Transit 3, making up two-thirds of the nearly $316,000 donated to the "No on ST3" campaign. [29] Freeman called the plan a "major calamity", criticizing the plan's timeline, cost, and scope. [30]

Freeman's motivations stem from a belief that cars provide significantly more personal freedom than transit. He believes that socialist nations have failed in part due to their reliance on public transportation. [31] Critics have accused him of being motivated by classism, arguing that a 2005 comment about the Southcenter mall indicates his disdain for those who can't afford to shop at Bellevue Square: "When you walk through the [Southcenter] mall, the way the customer dresses just to shop there — the light blue and pink hair curlers, the shoes that flop, flop, flop along — it’s a completely different customer," said Freeman. "Yet we are 12 miles apart." [32] [33]

Community involvement

Freeman Jr. holds leadership appointments in several community and economic development organizations in the Bellevue area, including:

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References

  1. 1 2 "Executive Profile: Kemper Freeman Jr". Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Bloomberg. Retrieved December 26, 2012.[ dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Stang, John (June 2012). "Cover Story: Kemper Freeman Jr". Seattle Business Magazine. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  3. ↑ Hoemann, Thomas A. "State of Washington: Members of the Legislature, 1889 ñ 2009" (PDF). State of Washington: Members of the Legislature. State of Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  4. ↑ Lang Jones, Jeanne (February 10, 2012). "Retail mogul Kemper Freeman talks shop". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  5. 1 2 Vansynghel, Margo (March 17, 2020). "Bellevue's anti-Japanese history 'censored' at city-run arts festival, artists say". Crosscut.com . Cascade Public Media.
  6. 1 2 David Neiwert (January 20, 2016). Eliminationists: How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right. Taylor & Francis. p. 160. ISBN   978-1-317-26060-8.
  7. ↑ "Deport Japanese". Seattle Star. July 26, 1919. Retrieved March 16, 2019.
  8. 1 2 Brodsky, Sascha (December 2005). "Kemper's Lincoln Square Adds to Seattle Suburb". Shopping Centers Today. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  9. ↑ Long, Katherine (May 1, 2010). "Kemper Freeman is suing to stop light-rail expansion to Eastside". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on October 9, 2014. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  10. ↑ Lindblom, Mike (May 15, 2002). "Kemper Freeman Jr.: Bellevue's man on the move". The Seattle Times. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  11. ↑ Park, Clayton (June 16, 1996). "Glitzy remake for Bellevue Place". Puget Sound Business Journal. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  12. ↑ Metcalf, Tom (November 29, 2016). "A Billionaire Real Estate Mogul Can't Find Love in Hillaryland". Bloomberg. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  13. ↑ Schaefer, David; Murakami, Kery (March 15, 1995). "Transit plan derailed: Pierce, Snohomish county voters say no to $6.7 billion proposal". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  14. ↑ Schaefer, David; Ervin, Keith (March 6, 1995). "A long road to opposition: Kemper Freeman Jr. vs. the RTA". The Seattle Times. p. A1. Archived from the original on October 7, 2008. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  15. ↑ Pryne, Eric (February 3, 2004). "Voters may decide on opening Washington HOV lanes". The Seattle Times . pp. B4. Archived from the original on November 22, 2004.
  16. ↑ "Initiative 883" (PDF). WA Secretary of State. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  17. ↑ Villeneuve, Andrew (June 16, 2008). "Eyman makes appointment to turn in signatures for I-985". Cascadia Advocate. Northwest Progressive Institute. Archived from the original on January 23, 2013. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  18. ↑ "State of Washington Voter's Pamphlet" (PDF). Washington Secretary of State. November 4, 2008. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 14, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  19. ↑ Dudley, Brier (October 8, 2000). "Who's in the fight against light rail". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on October 15, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  20. ↑ Cohen, Josh (November 28, 2007). "Sound Transit (King, Pierce, and Snohomish counties)". HistoryLink. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  21. ↑ Sane Transit v. Sound Transit, 151Wn.2d60 , 64(The Supreme Court of WashingtonMarch 4, 2004)("After the voters rejected Sound Transit's 1995 proposal for a $6.9 billion, 16-year regional transit plan, Sound Transit promulgated a second, less ambitious plan in May 1996.").
  22. ↑ "Group forms to fight light rail". The Seattle Times . June 7, 2007. Archived from the original on June 1, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  23. ↑ Barnett, Erica C. (September 15, 2009). "Freeman Backs Anti-Light Rail Slate on Eastside". PubliCola. Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  24. ↑ Lindblom, Mike (March 9, 2012). "Kemper Freeman loses latest bid to stop light rail over I-90 bridge". The Seattle Times. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  25. ↑ "State Supreme Court: Light rail OK on I-90 bridge | Local & Regional | Seattle News, Weather, Sports, Breaking News | KOMO News". Archived from the original on September 15, 2013.
  26. ↑ Westneat, Danny (October 25, 2011). "Eyman's secret war on light rail". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on February 4, 2012.
  27. ↑ Sanders, Eli (October 26, 2011). "Kemper Freeman's Road Rage". The Stranger. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 13, 2024. Freeman became a generous patron for initiative peddler Tim Eyman, giving Eyman $1.1 million to run this fall's Initiative 1125. That $1.1 million constitutes about 90 percent of all the money behind the measure, which purports to be about limiting the state's tolling authority, and does contain a lot of language about tolls, but also contains fine print intended to halt light rail to Bellevue.
  28. ↑ Lindblom, Mike (October 23, 2016). "Millions spent on Sound Transit 3 campaign — by those who would benefit". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on May 5, 2024. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  29. ↑ Moreno, Amy (September 12, 2016). "Developer: ST3 is 'a major calamity'". KING 5 News. Archived from the original on October 16, 2016.
  30. ↑ Barnett, Erica C. (June 11, 2007). "Freeman: Transit Proponents Are Socialists, Terrorists". The Stranger . Archived from the original on June 20, 2007. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  31. ↑ Large, Jerry (April 24, 2005). "Southcenter comments draw wrath of readers". The Seattle Times . Archived from the original on October 25, 2020. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  32. ↑ Goldstein, David (January 29, 2010). "Presumption Junction: where light rail intersects with Kemper Freeman's shameful family history". horsesass.org. Archived from the original on January 25, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2024.
  33. ↑ "Tateuchi Center Campaign Co-Chairs" (PDF). Tateuchi Center: A King County Cultural Asset. King County, Washington Government. Retrieved December 12, 2012.
  34. ↑ "Who we are-PACE" . Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  35. ↑ Staff (March 27, 2010). "Overlake Service League names 8 to Advisory Council". Bellevue Reporter. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
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