South Snohomish County Politics in 2014 saw a dull election but interesting contests to fill vacancies on the Edmonds City Council and in the State Legislature.
The vacancies came from resignations due to illness – by Edmonds City Councilman Frank Yamamoto and Democratic 21st District State Sen. Paull Shin.
It took 59 ballots over a month’s time, but the Edmonds City Council finally filled the Council position that had been vacant since Yamamoto resigned at the end of last year.
The Council appointed retired consultant Thomas W. Mesaros to the post in March after two February meetings had ended in 3-3 ties.
State Rep. Marko Liias won the 21st District Democratic Party nomination to replace Shin and appointment from the Snohomish County Council. Everett school counselor Lillian Ortiz-Self defeated retired labor-union official Darrell Chapman and Edmonds School Board President Susan Phillips for both the nomination and the appointment to replace Liias.
Also in the 21st District, State Rep. Mary Helen Roberts announced early in the year that she wouldn’t seek a sixth two-year term for the district’s other House seat.
Four Democrats filed to replace Roberts, with Edmonds City Councilman Strom Peterson emerging from the primary to defeat Republican Allen McPheeters in November by a 60-40 margin.
Ortiz-Self defeated Republican Jeff Scherrer 58 percent to 41 percent, and Liias topped Republican Dan Matthews 54 to 45 percent.
The 21st District includes most of Edmonds, unincorporated areas north of Edmonds and Lynnwood and northeast of Lynnwood, all of Mukilteo, and part of south Everett.
Democratic 32nd District State Sen. Maralyn Chase defeated Republican Robert Reedy 71 percent to 29 percent, Democratic 32nd District State Rep. Ruth Kagi beat Republican Al Rutledge 71 to 28 percent, and 32nd District Democratic State Rep. Cindy Ryu ran unopposed.
The district includes Lynnwood, Woodway, south Edmonds and nearby unincorporated areas of southwest Snohomish County, part of Mountlake Terrace, all of Shoreline and part of northwest Seattle.
In the most hotly contested local contest, 1st Legislative District Democratic State Rep. Luis Moscoso defeated Republican Ed Barton 54 percent to 46.
Also in the 1st District Democratic State Rep. Derek Stanford was alone on the primary ballot, but Republican Mark Davies got enough votes as a registered write-in candidate to qualify for the November ballot, where he lost to Stanford 58 to 41 percent.
The district includes most of Mountlake Terrace, all of Brier and Bothell, unincorporated areas north and east of Bothell, part of Kirkland and unincorporated areas between Bothell and Kirkland.
In elections for South Snohomish County District Court, incumbent Jeffrey Goodwin defeated challenger Brett Nagle 58 percent to 42 percent; incumbent Beth Fraser was unopposed, as was Edmonds Municipal Court Judge Douglas Fair for the position now held by Carol McRae, who did not seek re-election.
Lynnwood voters rejected Transportation Benefit District Proposition 1, a sales-and-use tax for transportation improvements in the City by a 53-47 margin. Lynnwood council members plan to meet in January to discuss their next steps.
Edmonds Mayor Dave Earling has nominated Edmonds resident Linda Coburn, a Snohomish County public defender, to fill the municipal court position once Fair resigns. Fair has said that he would resign in time to start his new position Jan. 12.
The Edmonds City Council has passed a “resolution of intent to confirm” the nomination, a move to speed the confirmation process. Final confirmation can come after Fair’s resignation.
The appointed judge can serve through the November 2015 election, when voters would fill the last two years of the four-year term that Fair won when he was re-elected in 2013.
The Edmonds Council soon will need to replace Peterson, who plans to resign his council position to begin his term in the legislature.
The Mountlake Terrace City Council completed its search for a new city manager in January, when it hired Arlene Fisher, previously city administrator for the city of Cheney near Spokane.
Meadowdale-area parent April Nowak joined the Edmonds School Board by appointment in March.
Nowak replaced Phillips to represent director district 4. Former Board President Phillips had resigned from the board to support her husband through a health problem. Nowak was one of six candidates who applied to replace Phillips. Nowak will serve through the 2015 election, when voters would choose someone to fill the last two years of the term that Phillips won in 2013.
The Alderwood Water and Wastewater District Board selected Lynnwood resident Dean Lotz to fill the board vacancy created by Roy George’s resignation.
The appointment will last through certification of the November 2015 general election, when voters will choose someone to fill the last four years of the term that George won in 2013. The District includes Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Brier, and parts of Bothell, Edmonds, Mill Creek and Mukilteo.
A petiton to overturn Lynnwood’s fireworks fell short of the required number of signatures. If the Lynnwood fireworks proposal had enough signatures, it would have gone to the Lynnwood City Council, which could have either passed it or put it on an upcoming ballot. The proposal would have overturned a ban on all fireworks that the Council passed early this year. Before the ban, fireworks were allowed in Lynnwood during certain hours on July 4.
In a February election, two Edmonds School District propositions on the ballot passed easily. The renewal of the District’s maintenance-and-operations levy got 65 percent of the vote, easily exceeding the needed simple majority. The bond issue for school construction and renovation needed a 60 percent majority to pass but exceeded that with 63 percent.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.
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