Debbie Harvey saw how bill increases affected seniors, prompting her to advocate for Federal Way seniors and subsequently become one of the first people to pitch the idea of a senior commission to the city.

Harvey is one of the founding members of the Federal Way Senior Commission, and as a senior herself, she said she seniors to have a voice as well as be seen, respected, recognized and valued. Harvey said she wanted to be part of the commission and the overall movement — and to see if the idea for a senior commission model could go beyond Federal Way and grow nationwide.

Harvey was born and grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, eventually going on to be married to her first husband and living in Germany for a few years. In 1980, Harvey said she visited Federal Way to see her sister and decided to stay.

Harvey said that as soon as she moved to Washington, she got an apartment in Federal Way, and when she met her second husband while working for a shipping company, they bought a home in the Campus Woods neighborhood. Harvey said she liked the mountains and weather in Washington and how, at the time, Washington was more forward-moving than the Southern states were.

Harvey said when she first moved to Federal Way, it was a small, quaint city — and although, as a growing city, it faces many of the issues others do, she still loves Federal Way. Harvey said from 1980 to 2008, she lived in Federal Way until she retired from Weyerhaeuser in 2008.

Following retirement, she decided to start working again in 2015 and moved to Vancouver, Canada. Despite finding a good job in Canada, Harvey said she and her husband couldn’t leave behind their Federal Way home, so they would spend the week in Canada and drive back every weekend. Harvey said she really enjoyed Vancouver, but they ultimately decided they wanted to return to Federal Way and retire.

Harvey said she had always been involved in the community, but when she settled back in Federal Way, she started noticing issues, such as a drug dealer living in her neighborhood. Harvey said the drug dealer’s home was causing issues, so she led her neighborhood to address the council.

Following that issue, there was a straightaway in her neighborhood that people would always speed through, which became a safety hazard. She said eventually, after advocating, they got a roundabout installed.

After gaining experience speaking with Federal Way City Councilmembers and the city, Harvey said she spoke to a councilmember about putting together a commission so seniors could have an advocate when tax increases were proposed. Harvey said that, ideally, she would like to see adjustments for tax increases based on income and age so that seniors on low fixed incomes aren’t so affected. Harvey said this issue came up when a utility tax was proposed for Lakehaven.

“I remember distinctly going to that council meeting talking about, ‘What about seniors?’ Because they don’t have a lot of money, a lot of them,” Harvey said. “I remember an older gentleman getting up and actually tears running down his face, saying that that was going to put him out of his house, and my heart broke. I thought, ‘We need to do better with our seniors. We need to be more aware of decisions that are made, how they impact everyone.’”

Harvey said that she’s been focused on how they can alleviate some of the burden on seniors now that she’s on the commission. In the future, she would like to see funds to help out seniors with medication bills, and have someone from the commission who sits at the table with the council when decisions are made.

Regarding some of her favorite parts of Federal Way, Harvey said she enjoys the trails, but really, what she enjoys about Federal Way is that everything someone could need is in the city. She said if someone wants to eat at a restaurant, there are many diverse options, movies, and even a theater where they can watch plays.

Harvey said her favorite restaurant is Ivar’s. A local restaurant she just discovered, and that surprised many people when she said she’d never tried it, was Burger Express. She said she had the chili fries, really enjoyed them, and plans to return.