SULTAN — While he was in high school, Russell Wiita served two years on the Sultan City Council as a voice for students. He weighed in on the many challenges facing City Hall, such as repairing streets, collecting trash and balancing budgets.
But when it came time for the council to make decisions, he didn’t have a vote. Starting next month, he will.
That’s when Wiita assumes office as an elected councilman — the youngest, the tallest and the most popular of the winning candidates in Sultan elections this year.
He’s 21 years old, 6’4” tall and the 644 votes he collected in the Nov. 3 election exceeded the totals that the incumbent mayor and two council members collected in their re-election victories.
“Getting more votes than them was sort of surreal,” he said.
Wiita overwhelmed four-time candidate Bart Dalmasso by a margin of 75.7 percent to 24.1 percent. He sent out mailers, waved signs on street corners and knocked on an estimated 450 of the roughly 1,100 homes with registered voters.
Winning brought an “overwhelming sensation” that lasted about a week, he said.
“What’s really started to hit me is to go out in the community and see so many people who know me and are excited that I am on the council,” he said “I’m just really excited to get in there and start working.”
Early on, he hopes to discuss how Sultan can better deal with repeat offenders of minor crimes. One solution he’d like to explore is the hiring of a city prosecutor, he said.
Another matter is attracting new businesses that fit the character of the town, he said.
“Coming in as the new guy and seeing how open the council and the city staff are to working on these issues will be interesting,” he said. “I want to do so without stepping on toes.”
That will demand an abundance of patience, counseled state Sen. Marko Liias, who began his political career in his 20s as well.
“The biggest issue is learning how to participate in the process so you bring your positions forward without rattling those who’ve been there a while,” said Liias, who won a seat on the Mukilteo City Council at age 24.
A starting point for Wiita’s political career came in the eighth grade on a trip to the state Capitol with his grandfather, Jerry Labish, a longtime Sultan rancher. He met the lawmakers representing Sultan at a breakfast hosted by the Cattleman’s Association, an organization Labish has led for several years.
“My grandpa gave me my first insight into politics,” he said. “He’s been a huge influence on me and I’m really grateful for that.”
Labish said politics come naturally for his grandson. “He spoke quite fluently on the issues even as a 14-year-old. After that he took the ball and kept on running,” he said.
“I was always talking to him about my beliefs and what I felt about government. It seems like we can talk for two hours about politics,” Labish said. “He knows the issues and the problems we have.”
Wiita spent 2010 and 2011 as the Sultan High School representative on the City Council. After graduating, he enrolled at the University of Washington. He will complete his degree in political science in December. He also served in the UW’s student Senate as a freshman and sophomore, and part of his junior year.
He left office to intern in the Legislature for House Minority Leader Dan Kristiansen, R-Snohomish, and Republican state Reps. Elizabeth Scott and David Taylor.
Kristiansen recalled meeting Wiita at that Cattleman Association event.
“He always had a bug for politics. Lo and behold he ran. He’ll be great,” he said.
“He can bring something new and fresh to the table. Hopefully it will be inspiring to others.”
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com.
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