By LEAH WEATHERSBY

Sports enthusiast Kristin Bush has a message: if teams don't get a place to play, politicians won't get votes.

Bush, a Haller Lake resident, has been attending meetings on playfield improvements and policy where neighbors are pitted against athletes for nearly a decade, and little has been accomplished.

"There's no finish line," said Bush. "We're processed out. We're never going to all agree."

As a result, she decided to found her own political action committee, called Citizens for Outdoor Recreation, in February, which will recommend that members vote for candidates who support increasing field capacity. Bush said the organization already has 5000 people on its mailing list.

Bush announced the group's existence at a recent hearing on field lighting where the public weighed-in on a Park's Department staff's recommendation to turn lights off at 10 p.m. rather than 11 p.m. on non-baseball/softball fields. The final decision will be made by Parks Department Superintendent Ken Bounds in consultation with the Mayor, although the Parks Board, a non-elected body, recommended on April 25 that games on existing fields continued to be scheduled until 10:45 p.m.

"Really the problem is that there's an overall lack of fields in general," said Bush, adding that with King County parks closing the problem will get worse. "We're saying we don't want the doors shut in terms of what opportunities (the Parks Department) can provide."

For questions about sportsfield lighting policy, call Alix Ogden at 684-7046.