EVERETT — Two candidates are squaring off for Position 7 on the Everett City Council.
In this off-year election, the race is for a one-year unexpired term. The winner will run again in November 2015 for a full term.
Rich Anderson is the incumbent, appointed to the seat in 2013 when Shannon Affholter resigned. Anderson has been an accountant with the firm Hascal Sjoholm &Co. PLLC for 38 years.
His challenger is Judy Tuohy, who has been the executive director of the Schack Arts Center for nearly 20 years.
Both are Everett natives — they were in the 1972 graduating class at Everett High School — and both have long been involved in the community.
Both also see street crime and the city’s long-term structural deficit as the key issues facing the council.
The city’s deficit- reduction package to date has been criticized, in particular for its emphasis on raising revenues, especially utility taxes and fees.
With the budget, Anderson said he felt that during the recession it wasn’t appropriate to consider new revenue sources.
“Now that we’ve reached the new normal, I think it’s appropriate to look at new revenues,” Anderson said, adding that any revenue increases need to be done with reductions in expenses.
Noting the review process under way in the fire and police departments, he pointed out that the city’s police department has about 25 unfilled positions, and the fire department is also short-staffed.
“We can’t maintain the level of service that we have unless we recruit and bring in some more police officers,” Anderson said.
“I don’t want to see fire, police and medical aid cut any further,” he said.
It’s here where Anderson’s and Tuohy’s views differ most.
Tuohy noted that the city is conducting in-depth studies of several city departments, including the fire and police departments, to look for potential savings.
“I had hoped more of that would have been done before they raised taxes and initiated some of these other fees,” Tuohy said.
“I understand the need to raise taxes at some point, but I think we need to do that as a last-ditch thing, as opposed to the first thing we do,” she said.
Tuohy also said that the city should review all departments, and compare them with those in other cities, to identify areas for savings.
A review of how the city does business, she said, hasn’t been done for a very long time.
“The business climate is different and we’re looking to how we can be effective in delivering city services,” Tuohy said.
“That’s something you do on an ongoing basis; you don’t just do it when you have a disaster and a problem,” she said.
Both Tuohy and Anderson see the need for more solutions to the city’s problem with chronic homelessness and street-level crime. The Everett Community Streets Initiative task force is expected to deliver a set of recommendations to the City Council later this fall.
Both agree that solutions are going to be more community- based, especially if it means building more housing.
“I would hope a private-public partnership (would emerge) where the city would be able to provide the land and another organizations can construct a new facility,” Anderson said.
Anderson and Tuohy also agree that a metropolitan park district similar to the one recently approved by Seattle voters is worth considering to ensure the city’s park system receives adequate funding.
Tuohy also thinks the city should be more involved in trying to improve the business climate in the downtown core of the city, and that could also lead to a safer environment with fewer street-level nuisances.
“We’re not going to have big retail downtown, but maybe we can bolster small boutiques, and make it more like a walking district,” she said.
The city could function in some ways like an incubator, allowing cross-marketing or other ancillary services to help build a more viable downtown.
Referring to her own experience running the Schack, she said, “Our sales have doubled in the last three years in downtown Everett, so it can be done.”
As of Sept. 29, Anderson has raised $30,107.21 from individuals, organizations, and businesses, including the Affordable Housing Council, Everett Gateway Center, Everett Firefighters Local 46, Mayor Ray Stephanson and councilman Scott Murphy. He’s spent $13,692.94.
As of Oct. 1, Tuohy has raised $29,661.01 from individuals and organizations, including the National Women’s Political Caucus, Snohomish County Democrats and Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher. She has spent $8,380.96.
Chris Winters: 425- 374-4165; cwinters@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @Chris_At_Herald.
Rich Anderson
Age: 60
Vocation: Principal, Hascal Sjoholm &Co. PLLC
Website: richandersonforcouncil.com
Judy Tuohy
Age: 60
Vocation: Executive director, Schack Art Center
Website: vote4judy.com
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