A Career of Service

John Chelminiak is a native of the northwest. Born and raised in West Seattle, he’s instilled with a love of the outdoors, a commitment to community, and a vision for a positive future.

He’s served the Eastside for most of his adult life as a community volunteer and as an elected leader. In Bellevue, he’s been elected to the boards of two housing organizations, has been a member of the Bellevue Planning Commission, defended Bellevue’s high quality government in the charter election and was elected to the council by two-thirds of the voters in November 2003.

In short, he gets things done.

John graduated from Washington State University and worked as a reporter, editor, and manager at KIRO Newsradio from 1977 to 1987. He covered, and survived, the eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 and won numerous national and local awards for his reporting on politics and the law.

He served in local government including positions as the Chief of Staff of the King County and Snohomish County Councils. He’s worked cooperatively on both sides of the political aisle here in King County, in Olympia, and in Washington DC. He’s now a consultant in public affairs and strategic communications.

John and his wife Lynn Semler live in Bellevue’s Vuecrest neighborhood with their daughters Morgan and Megan. Morgan is a junior at the University of Washington and Megan attends Chinook Middle School. John is a lector at Sacred Heart Catholic Church and he served as Chairman of the Board of Seattle’s O’Dea High School.

He enjoys golfing, hiking, kayaking, skiing, biking, and occasionally sitting still long enough to read a good book. The family enjoys two dogs and one horse.

John Cheminiak
Bellevue City Council, Pos. 3

Bellevue is a great place to live, work, and raise a family. John's daughters, Morgan and Megan, and dog Boji (a Polish Lowland Sheepdog) enjoy a summer afternoon.