TULALIP — A leadership breakfast here Friday was supposed to bring Snohomish County and Tulalip tribal governments closer together.
Instead, fallout from the meeting has left tribal leaders worried about getting pulled into a festering political spat at the county, one that’s now acquired racial overtones.
The controversy came to light in a letter County Executive John Lovick hand-delivered Monday to County Council Chairman Dave Somers.
Both men had attended the Tulalip breakfast, along with tribal board members and other county officials. At one point, Somers talked about a traditional song that tribal leaders would have recognized as part of their culture.
Lovick, however, construed it as a racist joke and wrote to express his outrage.
“At this gathering you were speaking and chose to make the following joke to all: ‘Do you know why Indians have no enemies? Because they killed them all,’ ” Lovick’s letter says.
Somers, who worked 18 years as a Tulalip Tribes fish biologist before getting elected to public office, said Lovick’s understanding of the situation is wrong. Somers said he merely recounted a piece of Tulalip history that he’s heard over the years from former tribal Chairman Stan Jones and others.
The song has been passed down for generations among Tulalips who claim Snohomish tribal heritage. It mentions the tribe being happy because they’ve killed their enemies.
“I love the Tulalips and everything they’ve done for me,” Somers said. “Dragging them into it and turning this into a racial thing is disgusting and it’s not true.”
Nevertheless, Somers said he called to apologize if anyone had taken offense.
Tribal Chairman Mel Sheldon, who was at Friday’s meeting, accepted the apology, but said he wasn’t bothered by what Somers said. He was sorry to see friction between Lovick and Somers.
“We value both of these men’s leadership in Snohomish County, but we do not wish to be pulled into their issues,” Sheldon said. “We respect their leadership and look forward to a productive relationship in the future.”
Somers accurately described what the song says and its place in Tulalip culture, said Tulalip Vice Chairman Glen Gobin, who attended the breakfast.
“We knew exactly what he was talking about, so we were not offended,” he said. “I would hate to see our culture and teachings thrown into the middle of this.”
Lovick said that doesn’t change his belief that he did the right thing by confronting Somers.
“There were a lot of people there and I don’t know how it affected them, but I do know how it affected me,” said Lovick, the first black person elected as Snohomish County’s sheriff and county executive. “We have to set an example by our behavior. Our words matter. That’s the message I’m trying to get across.”
Somers and Lovick, both Democrats, have clashed on several issues for more than a year. In one key showdown, Somers led a bloc of the County Council to roll back salary increases of 10 percent that Lovick’s administration had awarded several upper managers in 2014.
Somers also pushed Lovick to discipline his deputy executive, Mark Ericks, for making alleged threats to council members. Later, Somers and two other councilmen authorized spending $15,000 for an investigation into Ericks’ behavior. That investigation found nothing criminal about Ericks insulting the councilmen, it did trigger a criminal investigation into alleged interference by Ericks into land-use decisions. That investigation remains pending.
“I believe this is payback for the Mark Ericks problems we’ve had,” Somers said Tuesday.
Lovick is running for re-election this year and Somers has heard from some encouraging him to mount a challenge.
Somers, on Tuesday, said he hasn’t made up his mind whether he’ll enter the race. There’s less than a month left before the official filing period begins.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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