Voters face tough choices in 3 county council races

Published 9:00 pm Monday, September 10, 2001

With generally strong fields of county council candidates in front of them, voters must narrow the choices on Sept. 18.

There is a party primary in each of the three council districts where seats are up for election this fall. North Snohomish County voters must decide a Democratic primary in District 1. And there are Republican primary contests in east county’s District 5 and south county’s District 4.

The toughest call occurs in District 4, where all three candidates are exceptionally well-qualified. On the Republican side, the faceoff is between former Mill Creek Mayor Pam Pruitt and state Rep. Dave Schmidt. Either one could make an outstanding county council member.

Schmidt is an extraordinarily hard-working, fair-minded state representative. He has a deep history in local community affairs that he has built upon to become the House Republicans’ expert on election and local government laws. And his knowledge in those fields — as others — is used in ways that reflect Schmidt’s integrity and consistently good judgment.

Pruitt is very quick intellectually, researching and absorbing a wide variety of public policy issues. In Mill Creek, as both a council member and mayor, she proved herself dedicated to working with all parties to find solutions that served the general public. Pruitt is well aware of citizens’ frustrations over shortcomings in the county’s attempts to manage growth.

Faced with such a difficult choice between two fine leaders, we believe that the voters would do better by sending Pam Pruitt to the general election. She appears to be more in touch with the land-use issues the county faces continually.

On the Democratic side, the only candidate is Dave Gossett, who works as a county council staff member (on leave currently) and serves as Mountlake Terrace mayor. His dual governmental experiences as an elected official and a staff member makes Gossett, like the two Republicans, an outstanding candidate.

In north county’s District 1, the Democratic primary contest sees a contest between an incumbent and a Marysville resident making his first venture into politics. Mike Ashley, appointed to the post in January, has made a solid start that deserves Democratic voters’ support in the primary. Ashley, a dairy farmer, formerly served as chair of the county’s agricultural advisory board. He appears committed to ensuring north county voters a council member in tune with their concerns. His primary opponent, Chris Laird, is thoughtful and often incisive about the issues but he needs experience in government before tackling such a weighty assignment.

On the Republican side, John Koster will be an excellent candidate, offering articulate views and his own experience as a dairy farmer. Koster’s background as a state representative for six years has given him a much deeper understanding of government.

Also on the ballot is Libertarian Frank Ball, who represents the party’s small-government views but also has apparently associated himself with the phony "Freedom County" movement. A phone call to Ball was returned by one of the purported "county commissioners," Thom Satterlee.

In east county’s District 5, Republican Jeff Sax is an articulate candidate who could make a viable run in November. Sax stresses his engineering background and an ability to assess a situation reasonably, arguments that are reinforced by his straight-forward manner. His primary opponent is Chad Minnick, a political consultant and owner of a marketing and advertising firm. Minnick is campaigning as a candidate who could work respectfully and cooperatively with people of varying viewpoints.

The Republican winner will face a very formidable opponent in Dave Somers, the Democrat who is the council’s chair. Somers has built a strong record of environmental concern and tireless work to address regional concerns.

Don Polson is running as the Libertarian candidate on a platform stressing individual and private property rights.