Berkey favored to join Senate

Published 9:00 pm Wednesday, December 17, 2003

EVERETT — Rep. Jean Berkey is the frontrunner to replace Aaron Reardon in the state Senate after Reardon takes over as Snohomish County executive in January.

Berkey, an Everett Democrat who represents the 38th District in the House, collected the most votes during the selection process to come up with three candidates to replace Reardon, said Kent Hanson, chairman of the Snohomish County Demo-

cratic Party Central Committee.

That means she’s ranked first out of all three candidates, Hanson said. The other two candidates for the seat are Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, and Kelly Wright, a member of the Marysville Salary Commission.

By law, the Republican-dominated Snohomish County Council will appoint Reardon’s replacement early next year. The council will interview the three candidates for the position on Jan. 7.

But Berkey’s appointment would mean she would have to resign her seat, leaving another vacancy in Olympia for the County Council to fill.

Mike Sells, the secretary-treasurer for Snohomish County Labor Council, is the odds-on favorite to replace Berkey.

Sells picked up the most ballots during the recent vote of precinct committee officers to pick candidates for the open positions, Hanson said. Because of that, he’s the committee’s top choice for the post.

"I’m grateful and honored," Sells said.

"I don’t think I was surprised. I worked for it," Sells said, adding that he had a broad outreach effort and had a group of supporters lobbying on his behalf.

Sells said he was eager to serve his community in Olympia.

"For me, it’s about doing something," he said. "I think there’s a lot of work to be done, quite frankly, around transportation issues, around education issues, job development and economic development issues."

If he is appointed, Sells said he would keep his job with the labor council.

He was first elected secretary-treasurer of the Snohomish County AFL-CIO in 1976 and was asked to take over full time in 1998. By then, the council had grown from 7,000 members in 42 unions to more than 42,000 members in 65 unions.

Democrats said they had three strong candidates for both positions, but added that they expect the County Council to go along with their top choices.

"Historically, the County Council follows the recommendation of the party," said Dylan Malone, a former candidate for a 38th District House seat.

Malone, who works as a graphic designer in the advertising department at The Herald, was nominated as a candidate for both positions. But he didn’t get enough votes to advance with the group of candidates that will be presented to the county council.

Malone came within three votes of getting into the top three.

"It’s a volatile process. It’s notoriously unpredictable," Malone said. "That’s part of what’s great about the Democratic Party. It’s a very free-spirited group."

"We sincerely have a lot of talented people in the party," he added. "These are particularly strong candidates who should be able to hold their seats when it comes time to face election in the fall."

Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.