Onyon leaves legacy after 23 years dedicated to city council

Bonnie Onyon banged her gavel for the last time during the December 27, 2021 city council meeting, ending 23 years of service on Blaine City Council – eight of which were led as mayor.

Whatcom County Council appointed Onyon to city council in 1998 to fill a council member’s remaining two-year term after city council’s 3-3 vote between Onyon and another candidate required the county to be the tiebreaker. Onyon was only challenged once in the five elections she campaigned. City council appointed her as mayor 2008-2011 and then again in 2018.

Throughout the years, Onyon fought long and hard for many city improvements she believed in, from the Gateway development on the old airport property to paving the way for east Blaine housing development.

“Frankly when I moved here, it was a culture shock for me. I had never lived in a small town,” she said. “It got me involved in the business community and making positive changes. I thought, ‘As a citizen, this is a way I can help out and keep myself from being bored’ and it took off from there.”

Before council

Onyon, a Pennsylvania native, moved to Blaine in 1983 with her husband and children to be closer to family who lived in Whatcom County. A few months after moving to the area, a property went up for sale on the west side of Peace Portal Drive, across from where Starbucks is currently. Onyon and her husband, Ed, purchased the property and opened Thrifty Market, a small grocery store and deli that served everything from sandwiches to fried chicken as well as alcohol for the Canadians during the blue law era. The Onyons went on to own most of the block and raised their three children in the deli during the 12 years it was open.

But a low Canadian exchange rate in the ‘90s coupled with high mortgage rates forced the Onyons to sell their property in 1996 and Fairhaven developer Ken Imus bought the property a few years later before he eventually tore it down.

While working at Thrifty Market, Onyon became involved with the Blaine Chamber of Commerce and worked her way up to become president.

“It was hard for us to do something concrete for downtown because the businesses were suffering,” she said. “Everyone else I saw in the same position in Blaine and thought, ‘Why? Why isn’t it more?’”

Onyon got to work. She encouraged businesses to decorate storefronts. She received city permission to fill an empty fountain with dirt and flowers in G Street Plaza, which used to be a grassy street-end. Believing the town needed sturdy street seating, Onyon found a Custer concrete company willing to donate its time and asked the city to pay for eight wood-and-concrete benches, a few of which are still downtown today.

After the chamber, Onyon served on the city of Blaine’s planning commission for six years.

“That gave me a good background on at least a portion of what is involved with the city with land use and zoning,” she said.

Time on council

Onyon’s teenage son encouraged her to run for city council in 1998. County council voted 5-2 to appoint her to fill a remaining two-year term after a tied city council vote between Onyon and another candidate. Onyon said she has been asked to serve on Whatcom County Council and as a 42nd Legislative District state legislator over the years but has declined because she sees those positions as too political.

Alongside the work of her fellow city council members, Onyon earned a list of accomplishments during the 23 years on council, many of which are related to her strong advocacy for development.

In her early years on council, Onyon encouraged the city to waive development and hook-up fees to encourage more developers like Imus. The decision whether or not to close the old Blaine Municipal Airport stirred controversy among council and community members; Onyon was on the closing side because she saw its strain on city resources and potential to increase the city’s general fund.

“I’ve always been an advocate for growth,” Onyon said. “That was not always looked upon favorably back in the day.”

The former mayor supported bringing manufacturers to Blaine and through her tenure welcomed Mercer Logistics, Family Care Network, Chuckanut Foods and White Leasure.

“That took a longtime coming,” she said of airport property sales. “Most of the development came in the past five years.”

Onyon joined council shortly after the city annexed east Blaine in 1996, leading the way for major upcoming housing developments Grandis Pond and Harbor Hills, formerly known as East Maple Ridge. Testifying in Olympia for state funding to extend utilities to east Blaine and improving the permitting process were among Onyon’s top accomplishments, she said. 

Other accomplishments Onyon said she’s proud of from her time on council include the city building the state-of-the-art Lighthouse Point Water Reclamation Facility on Marine Drive, constructing the Blaine Marine Park pirate playground, acquiring state funding for the Peace Portal Drive and Bell Road intersection improvements to come in the next few years, hiring three city managers and purchasing the new city hall at 435 Martin Street.

Going forward

Mayor Mary Lou Steward, who spent nearly the last decade on council with Onyon, said the former mayor was easy to work with and had extensive knowledge on the city.

“She was on council for a long, long time and that was a lot of hours she dedicated to trying to make Blaine a better place,” Steward said. “From when she started to when she banged the final gavel, she moved the city forward in a very positive direction.”

City manager Michael Jones said Onyon excelled in finding common ground with other council members and negotiating reasonable decisions. She kept a friendly demeanor and small-town attitude while conducting business for the city, he said.

“I’ll miss mayor Onyon. She was a fantastic partner to work with and I wish her nothing but the best,” Jones said. “I look forward to working with the new council and mayor, but she will leave a void.”

As for her time after council, Onyon said she would consider joining the city commissions or boards in the future. But for now, she’s content spending time with family and exploring new volunteer opportunities.

“It’s been a longtime coming but Blaine is really becoming its own. And people are noticing,” she said. “I’m really proud I had a hand in that. It was just one of the hands, but it was a hand.”