Incumbent county executive faces two challengers

EVERETT — John Lovick says he’s worked to restore integrity to his office of Snohomish County executive since being appointed last year.

Voters get their first chance to assess his performance during the Aug. 5 primary election.

Lovick, the former county sheriff, faces two opponents: Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick, a Republican focused on supporting small businesses, and Lynnwood attorney James Robert Deal, a Democrat with an activist bent.

The top two vote-getters will advance to the Nov. 4 special election to compete for a one-year term.

Lovick argues he’s earned more time in the job, after leading the county through the transition from his scandal-plagued predecessor and in the response to the March 22 Oso mudslide.

“We have been tested and we have performed well,” he told The Daily Herald editorial board Thursday.

Lovick was appointed as executive in June 2013 by local Democrats and the County Council. He replaced Aaron Reardon, who had resigned the month before after a series of scandals.

A former Reardon aide, Kevin Hulten, earlier this month was sentenced to a work-crew program for tampering with evidence during a criminal investigation into the former executive’s administration.

Reardon and Hulten remain under investigation by the state Public Disclosure Commission for activities during the former executive’s 2011 re-election campaign. The commission can level fines for campaign misconduct.

When asked what’s changed over the past year, Lovick points to the management culture he’s brought to the job.

“It has to start with leadership,” he said.

He gives credit to the county employees under him.

“None of this is about me — it’s about the great work that they do,” he said.

Before becoming executive, Lovick worked for 31 years as a state trooper and was elected county sheriff twice. He previously served nine years in the Legislature and five years on the Mill Creek City Council. He was in the Coast Guard for 13 years. Both Eslick and Deal make it clear that they’re not in the race to take any personal shots at Lovick; they’re offering different ideas.

Eslick does criticize Lovick for not doing more to cut back spending in the face of financial uncertainty. Drags on the county budget include the enormous cost of responding to the Oso disaster and settling wrongful death suits involving the county jail.

Eslick faults Lovick’s administration for giving some upper managers 10 percent raises.

“That was very wrong,” she said.

She also believes the county should hold off on building a new courthouse and instead should look at remodeling the existing 1967 building. A majority of the County Council rejected the remodeling plan, reasoning that it wouldn’t fix a lot of the problems with the old courthouse building. Instead, they chose to build a $162 million building mostly on county land about a block away.

Even before becoming executive, Lovick strongly advocated for building a new courthouse. He now says would have preferred picking a different location for the project: the plaza immediately north of the old building, which would have cost about $30 million less. When council members last fall asked which option Lovick favored, he said he would support whatever choice they made.

Eslick owned and ran the Dutch Cup restaurant in Sultan before entering politics, first on Sultan’s City Council and later as the city’s mayor. She also helped found the local chamber of commerce and now runs a nonprofit that works to promote small business.

Running for county executive “is a big leap, I know it,” she said. “But I come to the table with 30 years of business experience.”

Deal, an attorney for 36 years, works with homeowners facing foreclosure.

He’s best known locally for his opposition to adding fluoride in drinking water. He also backs an assortment of other causes, including raising the county’s minimum wage, lowering the voting age to 16 and banning chemical pesticides.

“The county needs an attorney with a vision in the top spot,” he said.

Deal blogs about mass transit and has written a cookbook about “the theology of food.” He also wants to stop freight trains from carrying highly flammable crude oil through the county in flimsy container cars, as well as uncovered loads of coal.

“I’m the progressive candidate in this race,” he said. “I am the one with positive vision for what this county can be.”

Deal has no experience in elected office. He ran unsuccessfully for Lynnwood City Council in 2013 and lieutenant governor in 2012.

The county auditor mailed 411,000 primary ballots Thursday.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com.

Meet the candidates

About the job: As Snohomish County’s top administrator, the executive is elected by voters to oversee a bureaucracy with more than 2,700 employees and an annual operating budget of more than $200 million. Pay for next year is $161,114. The current election will determine who fills out the unexpired final year of a term. Another election for the full four-year term is scheduled in 2015.

John Lovick (incumbent, appointed)

Party: Democrat

Age: 63

Experience: Executive, 2013 to present; county sheriff, 2008 to 2013; state Legislature for nine years; Mill Creek City Council for five years; retired Washington state trooper; U.S. Coast Guard

Website: www.electjohnlovick.com

Carolyn Eslick

Party: Republican

Age: 64

Experience: Sultan mayor, 2008 to present; Sultan council member, 1995 to 2001; owner of the Dutch Cup restaurant, 1981 to 2001; local chamber of commerce co-founder; founder and director of GROW Washington, a nonprofit that promotes small businesses

Website: www.eslick4exec.com

James Robert Deal

Party: Democrat

Age: 67

Experience: attorney for 36 years; author; activist; blogger; 2013 candidate for Lynnwood City Council; 2012 candidate for lieutenant governor.

Website: www.jamesrobertdeal.org

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.