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The newest member of the Spokane Valley City Council learned the value of civic involvement at a time when the world was in disarray.
As a boy growing up in east London during the height of World War II, Ian Robertson saw citizens rally to create a haven against German artillery and propaganda. Robertson’s father, a local pastor, emphasized faith in the face of turmoil.
 “We had hope,” Robertson said. “People were encouraging each other. When you go through something like that, you look back and realize how people have helped you.”
Robertson’s mother cooked biscuits and served tea to the American convoys that would roll through the cobblestone streets. Air-raid shelters were set up everywhere.
“Everything was rationed,” Robertson said. “You couldn’t waste anything – it was all precious. I remember them cutting down an iron fence because they needed it for the war effort.”
When the war ended in 1945, Robertson’s family moved back to their native Scotland. Robertson finished his intermediate schooling there before venturing to the U.S. to begin studies at Nazarene Theological College in Kansas City.
Robertson said his father’s example of charity made an impression as he contemplated a career in the ministry.
“I remember his dedication to helping people, especially the poor,” he said.
Ian’s father, who lost his sight as a young man in his 20s, passed away two years ago at the age of 101.
In addition to his studies in college, Robertson didn’t waste any time finding employment that would help pay for his schooling.
“I had $50 in my pocket when I arrived,” Robertson said. “I went into a grocery store and told the manager I’d heard that America was the land of opportunity. I was hired that day.”
While in Kansas City, Robertson helped launch the second FM station the area had ever heard. Robertson spent a year as an on-air host for a channel that specialized in Christian music and devotionals.
After college, Robertson traveled to the Oregon coast where he served as pastor of a Nazarene church in Seaside. Robertson and his wife, Valerie, would make stops in two other Oregon cities – Milwaukee and Ashland – before settling in California.
“I really enjoyed Oregon,” Robertson said. “You had the ocean and the weather was close to what we had in Scotland.”
It was in Ashland that Robertson served on the town’s planning commission, discussing topics that included land use, development regulation, environmental protection and capital improvements. Years later, after the vote for incorporation passed in Spokane Valley, Robertson would be part of the city’s first planning commission.
Robertson moved to Spokane in 1999 to be pastor at Spokane Valley Church of the Nazarene. Located on Broadway for years, the church was constructing a new building on Sullivan Road. Robertson would lead the congregation until his retirement in June 2007.
Robertson represented the faith community on the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office Citizens Advisory Council organized by Sheriff Mark Sterk in 2000. He was also part of Kiwanis and Lions clubs and worked to create increased collaboration among local churches through his involvement with the Spokane Valley Ministerial Association.
“He got churches that hadn’t talked to each other to sit down and discuss what they could do to make the community better,” said former Spokane Valley
Mayor Mike DeVleming, who served with Robertson on the sheriff’s advisory council. “Ian has a way of making a positive impact.”
In August 2007, Robertson underwent double-bypass surgery after problems with his heart were detected during a routine physical. After the operation and a regiment of physical therapy, Robertson returned to his support of civic causes including an effort to revitalize the former Sports USA athletic facility now known as the Valley HUB. Many, including DeVleming, credit Robertson with rescuing the building from being transformed into a warehouse.
“It was just another example of his leadership,” DeVleming said.
Robertson supported the vote for Spokane Valley incorporation in 2002 but did not serve on any formal committee.
“We were already an urban area, we just hadn’t established a city,” he said.
In his work with the planning commission, Robertson emphasized the importance of involving residents of neighborhoods affected by the process of zoning and development. While those who live in areas like Greenacres, Ponderosa and Rotchford Acres weren’t always in agreement with the city, Robertson said the Planning Commission made sure to hear their stories.
“These are the people closest to the issues,” he said.
Bill Gothmann, a member of the Spokane Valley City Council since 2006, served with Robertson on the Planning Commission for two years. He said Robertson’s knowledge of municipal issues should be a benefit as he begins his tenure with the council.
“For one thing, Ian has been a positive influence in trying to move the city ahead in all areas,” Gothmann said. “He understands land use as well as city law and ethics.”
Robertson was officially welcomed to the City Council last Tuesday by a 4-2 vote. He will serve the remaining three months of the seat vacated by Steve Taylor, who left June 30 to become city administrator in Connell. Robertson said he will run for a four-year term on the November ballot.
Robertson said one of his main goals as a municipal leader will be to improve communication between citizens and City Hall.
“It concerns me that when you see only a handful of people at a City Council meeting,” he said.
Robertson has expressed concern with the movement to disincorporate Spokane Valley, saying “it just encourages divisiveness.”
“There are so many good things going on in Spokane Valley from the budget to the people who work for the city,” he said. “We need to step up and work together on behalf of this community.”
Ian and Valerie have two grown sons who both live in California – Stephen serves as a police sergeant, and Kevin is a pastor who also helps provide care as part of a mission in Darfur, Sudan.
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By
Mike Huffman
