Candidates for Everett City Council Position one are (L-R) Justin Murta, Lee Dart and Paul Roberts.

Candidates for Everett City Council Position one are (L-R) Justin Murta, Lee Dart and Paul Roberts.

Two challenge 3-term incumbent in Everett City Council race

EVERETT — One has played a key role across decades in helping to shape the city and its economy.

Another has spent much of a lifetime telling stories about the people who live here.

The third was drawn to serve his country in the U.S. Marine Corps and followed that with a musical pilgrimage that took him around the globe and broadened his horizons.

The three candidates for Position 1 on the Everett City Council have diverse backgrounds. Voters in the Aug. 1 primary will determine which two will continue to the general election in November.

Paul Roberts, 65, is seeking re-election to what would be his fourth term. The north Everett man points to a record of service that also includes six years on the board for Everett Public Schools, a spot on the Sound Transit board of directors and 16 years as the city of Everett’s planning director. It was during his watch that Naval Station Everett was added to the waterfront and the Boeing Co. began gearing up for a major expansion at its south Everett operation, creating space for the 787 and 777X jobs of today.

“I am proud of the work I’ve done,” Roberts said. “It is real clear that we are going to have a new mayor. I would like to think that my experience in working with the Navy and aerospace industry and working with infrastructure and the economy and the environment and the community will be of some value.”

Lee Dart, 57, is publisher of MyEverettNews.com, a hyper-local news site that he runs solo. It is his latest journalistic endeavor. For many years he was known as by his on-air identity Tony Stevens, and reported the news for KRKO 1380.

Dart said his primary concern is public safety. People tell him they no longer feel safe in the community. Leaders in City Hall have been slow to fill open spots in the police department and to address problems with morale in the fire department, he said.

At the same time, Dart has covered enough city budget presentations for his website to know about projected deficits if Everett doesn’t change its spending habits.

He hopes to bring some common sense, good will and commitment to tackling the challenges in the place he calls home.

“I am an Everett guy who has lived here nearly all my life,” said Dart, who makes his home in central Everett, not far from Evergreen Way.

Justin Murta, 38, is an employee benefits consultant who also has a career as a music promoter and DJ. He points to the eight years he served in the Marine Corps as preparation for what would be his first elected office. His military service and music career have exposed him to different ideas, and his political leanings (Murta ran as a Libertarian Party candidate for state insurance commissioner in 2016) offer fresh perspectives that he says are sorely needed.

Everett, he said, “is like a dinosaur of all the surrounding communities.” It doesn’t know whether it wants to be Auburn or Bellevue, he said.

Murta moved his family from Snohomish to Everett’s Pinehurst neighborhood about a year ago. He hasn’t regularly attended City Council meetings.

Not enough is being done to address property crime, transient camps that surround the city and the poor repair of homes and businesses, he said.

“I want to live in an enjoyable environment,” he said. The community needs more leaders who will encourage and empower people to make a difference through volunteering and other forms of involvement, Murta said.

Economic policies also need re-examined, he said. To his thinking, the Navy base has bottled up key real estate on the waterfront. Meanwhile, tax breaks for Boeing translate into greater pressures for other area businesses, he said. That problem is exacerbated when so many Boeing employees don’t live in Everett, he said.

Dart also questions tax breaks for Boeing and large developers. Likewise, he said the city needs to take a fresh look at its priorities.

“Do we need two golf courses in a city our size?” he asks on his campaign website. “Do we keep spending money on a pool when the YMCA is about to build a new facility a mile away and there’s a chance for a partnership.”

Dart said the dozen years Roberts has served on the council is plenty. He’d like to see Everett adopt term limits, as is the case for Snohomish County government.

Roberts counters: How well has that worked out for the county? He points to the mess that Aaron Reardon made after he succeeded longtime former County Executive Bob Drewel, who had to step down because of term limits.

Yes, Everett has challenges, but it also is doing a lot that is right, Roberts said.

“We are not in a rut,” he said. “There are very few places in the nation that have the economic (strengths) that we have.”

The city has 55,120 eligible voters. A position on the Everett City Council position pays $28,163 a year.

To learn more about the candidates, go to:

Lee Dart: www.electleedart.com/

Justin Murta: electjustinmurta.com/

Paul Roberts: paulroberts4future.com/

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.