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Election to change county and state

Published 9:00 pm Saturday, November 3, 2001

Herald staff

Voters go to the polls Tuesday to pick council members, commissioners and legislators.

Some 270 people are on the ballot in districts throughout Snohomish County, and some of those races have attracted considerable attention during the political season.

In addition, voters will have their say on several state initiatives and a countywide proposal for agricultural lands. The election is also important to specific areas where special taxing measures will be on the ballot for such things as paramedic services.

And the entire state is watching the results of hot legislative races in the 21st and 38th legislative districts, where control of the state House next year will be decided.

Closer to home, control of the five-member Snohomish County Council also is up for grabs in races for three seats that have been hard-fought and expensive. Candidates have stumped on a range of issues from police staffing to taxes to growth.

Led by the people who have held those seats for the past four years, the council has moved several times to tighten development regulations.

Environmentalists and neighborhood activists pushing to control the growth of new housing have welcomed the moves. But the housing industry has fought several actions, warning that the regulations are hurting the economy and driving up home prices. Both sides are pouring money into the campaigns of their preferred candidates.

Dave Somers, the east county District 5 incumbent and a former fisheries biologist, has been a chief proponent of the reforms. His Republican opponent, Jeff Sax, has targeted land-use regulations as excessive. Sax, an engineer and former salesman of industrial pollution control devices, has also taken a strong stance against tax increases.

In the north county’s 1st District, incumbent Democrat Mike Ashley has taken up the call for growth control, saying the county needs to continue taking steps to protect existing communities from excessive growth.

Former three-term Republican state lawmaker John Koster has argued that property taxes need to be reined in and that county regulations have failed to effectively deal with development.

The 4th District , in the south central part of the country, is a battle of the "Daves."

On the Republican side, state lawmaker Dave Schmidt is trying to win an open seat partly by arguing that county regulations have driven up the cost of housing and pushed development further away from cities.

His opponent, Democrat Dave Gossett, has banked partly on his local political experience. The three-time Mountlake Terrace mayor is a legislative analyst for the county council. Gossett has split with Schmidt on development regulations, saying recent reforms have helped stop high-density developments from crowding into neighborhoods.

Among the races on the ballot:

  • State voters will decide the fate of the latest initiative proposed by tax crusader and Mukilteo resident Tim Eyman.

    Initiative 747 is his third tax measure in as many years. While the first two have been struck down by the courts, observers believe this one might pass judicial scrutiny. The measure would limit increases in property tax collections to 1 percent per year unless voters approve a bigger increase

  • There may be some new faces on the Everett City Council. Three incumbents are holding a tenuous grip on their seats after finishing behind challengers in the September primary election.

    Incumbents Frank Anderson, Dave Simpson and Dan Warnock are getting stiff challenges from, respectively, Mary Ehrlich, Mark Olson and Arlan Hatloe.

  • In Lake Stevens, residents could wind up with the unusual situation of two married couples on the city council

    Rich Estep already is on the panel, and his wife, Julie Estep, is running against Jack Blackwell. Also, Larry Wagner is running unopposed while his wife, Carlene Wagner, is seeking election against Glenn McLoughlin.

  • In Lynnwood, there’s a tight race between Mike McKinnon and Don Gough, who are competing for the open mayor’s seat.

  • The hot issue in Mukilteo’s city council race is the possibility of building a road through Japanese Gulch to ease ferry traffic. Incumbent Cathy Reese supports exploration of that idea, but newcomer Kevin Stoltz firmly opposes it.

  • ?The mayor of Monroe, Bob Holman, is seeking a demotion. He is running for the Monroe City Council against 14-year incumbent Jim Hunnicutt.

  • ?Ken Foster is running unopposed for mayor in Gold Bar, but Mark Price has mounted a write-in campaign against Foster.

    Staff members Warren Cornwall, Theresa Goffredo, Janice Posada, Leslie Moriarty , Jim Haley and Kate Reardon contributed to this report.

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