Voters in Monroe, Granite Falls and Stanwood will be choosing new mayors this fall after their incumbent leaders did not file for re-election by a Friday deadline.
The well known mayors of Lynnwood and Mukilteo must each defeat multiple challengers if they want to keep serving.
Gold Bar is in line for a new mayor but who it might be is a mystery after no one signed up to run, including the current office-holder.
Friday concluded the week in which candidates could sign up for seats on city councils, school boards and fire districts. In all, there are 179 offices up for election in Snohomish County and 72 offices in Island County this year.
Candidates can change their minds and have until 5 p.m. Monday to withdraw. Otherwise their names will appear on the Aug. 6 primary ballot. The general election is Nov. 5.
For any office for which no one signed up, a special three-day filing period will be scheduled by the county auditor to try to attract candidates.
Several interesting contests for mayor and other positions are shaping up in Snohomish County this year.
Monroe Mayor Robert Zimmerman provided a small surprise Friday when he announced he would not seek a second term. This opened the door for a fall contest pitting Councilman Ed Davis against Geoffrey Thomas, who served on the council from 2003-09.
In Granite Falls, as expected, Mayor Haroon Saleem did not seek re-election. Now, Councilman Joshua Golston and Edward Lee will compete for the post.
Stanwood, will be getting a new mayor as Dianne White, their popular leader, decided to retire. Leonard Kelley and Les Anderson are looking to replace her.
Gold Bar Mayor Joe Beavers didn’t file to keep his job at the helm of a city whose leaders have spent the past couple years fending off bankruptcy and contemplating disincorporation.
Then no one filed to replace him.
Lynnwood Mayor Don Gough, who didn’t file until the final hours, faces opposition from two City Council members Loren Simmonds and Mark Smith, and one resident, Nicola Smith, who is not related to the councilman.
Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine, who is in his second term and pondering a 2015 run for Snohomish County executive, will be up against two current members of the City Council, Jennifer Gregerson and Steve Schmalz.
Not every city leader will be fighting for their job this fall.
Mayors Ray Stephanson of Everett, Bruce Albert of Index and Carla Nichols of Woodway are all on course for re-election after no opponents surfaced against any of them.
There are going to be intriguing contests for two seats on the Everett School Board.
Incumbent board member Carol Andrews will duel Kim Guymon, founder of the Everett School Board Project and a critic of the trustees.
And three people are looking to succeed board member Ed Petersen who is not running again, including the man who attempted to recall all five current board members earlier this year.
Rodman Reynolds, who claimed the board lacked an auditing committee required by state law and should be recalled, was unsuccessful when a judge tossed out his petition.
He’s up against Mary Ann Elbert, who ran for a board seat in 2011 and lost to Pam LeSesne, and Ted Wenta, executive vice president of the YMCA of Snohomish County.
Several cities are going to have crowded contests for council seats.
In Lynnwood, primaries will be needed to narrow the field for each of the three seats on the ballot.
Jim Smith, Shirley Sutton and Ian Cotton filed for the office that Councilman Mark Smith is vacating in order to run for mayor.
Douglass Lovitt, Ruth Ross, Dave Mayers and Maria Ambalada are vying to succeed Councilwoman Kerri Lonergan-Dreke, who chose not to run again.
In the third race, Michael Moore and James Robert Deal, best known for his fight against fluoridation, are taking on incumbent Councilman Christopher Boyer.
In Edmonds and Mill Creek, all the incumbent council members are facing challengers while in Everett it is a different story.
Council members Paul Roberts and Jeff Moore drew no opponents while Councilman Scott Murphy will face off with perennial candidate Jackie Minchew.
And two seats on the board of Snohomish County Fire District No. 1 are attracting a lot of interest.
Commissioner Bob Meador of Bothell faces a trio of opponents, Erica Ash of Bothell, Michael Anthony Luke and Robert Falla, both of Lynnwood. Another Lynnwood resident, Jim McGaughey signed up to run against incumbent Commissioner Karen Dingmon of Mill Creek.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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