Musical chairs: Three friends and one open 21st Dist. House seat

Published 5:36 pm Friday, December 14, 2007

Rep. Brian Sullivan has left shoes to fill, and they are big ones.

Sullivan, who has represented Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mukilteo in the state House as part of the 21st District, was elected to the Snohomish County Council Nov. 6.

Now, the race to replace him features three men, each of them Sullivan’s friends, jockeying for his seat. An important hurdle in that process takes place tomorrow, Saturday, Dec. 15.

Running for the seat are Darrell Chapman, president of the Snohomish County Labor Council, Mukilteo Councilmember Marko Liias and Lynnwood Councilmember Mark Smith.

The hurdle is a complicated insider’s game ¿ a vote of Democratic precinct officers, which may or may not rank the three candidates before the names are forwarded to the County Council, which makes the ultimate decision.

Decisions about tomorrow’s vote aren’t made until the precinct officers convene tomorrow at Everett’s Labor Temple.

“Whoever gets this position, it’s pretty incumbent upon them to move Brian Sullivan’s issues forward,” Smith said.

Moving Sullivan’s issues forward should be easy. All three candidates say they are true Democrats who hold Sullivan’s issues dear.

Pundits say that Chapman and Liias are the front runners.

Sullivan himself has endorsed Chapman, as has incoming County Councilmember Mike Cooper, but the Herald of Everett reported Dec. 9 that Liias had lined up commitments from the most precinct officers.

Sullivan did not respond to a request for comment.

Voters are sure to get a died-in-the-wool Democrat, however.

In interviews with the Enterprise, each of the candidates talked about their Democratic credentials and their primary issues.

Darrell Chapman

Chapman, 62, has worked on each of Sullivan’s campaigns since the two met in 1994, Chapman said Tuesday.

“We go back a long ways, and we share a lot of philosophical beliefs,” said Chapman, an electrician of 37 years, the last 19 as a union representative and organizer.

If elected, the primary focus of Chapman’s tenure would be transportation, energy issues and education, he said.

“When (the Roads and Transit package) went down, it was absolutely devastating to all of us,” he said. “Transportation is the number one issue in the state, let alone the 21st.”

Chapman would like to push for more apprenticeship programs for high school students, he said. Preparing every student for a college education isn’t necessary if not every student plans to go to college; it is more important to teach skills and stop drop outs, he said.

Marko Liias

Liias, 26, was Sullivan’s campaign manager on the two most recent campaigns.

Moving from Mukilteo to the state legislature, just like Sullivan did earlier in his career, is the best way Liias can help his constituents, he said.

Liias owns a development company with his family.

His top goal is also transportation, but economic development is also a priority, he said. More than anything, his participation in the Democratic party recommends him, said Liias, who is on the board of both the Snohomish County Democrats and the 21st Legislative District Democrats.

“I have a long track record of being active in the party,” he said. “And as someone who is a proud Democrat, I believe that I would be a strong progressive voice and a strong Democratic vote.”

Mark Smith

Smith, 46, was elected to Lynnwood’s City Council in 2005 after moving back from Japan, where he was a university teacher.

Smith carpooled with Sullivan to Olympia last session, when Smith was a session aide for state Senator Paull Shin.

“The issues in the 21st are some of the same things that the state faces,” he said.

Nothing is bigger than transportation, he said. “We need to start changing the debate from moving cars as quickly as possible to moving people as quickly as possible,” he said Tuesday. “We cannot pave enough land to accommodate all the cars. It is just not possible.”

An advocate of light rail, and a supporter of capital investment into the ferry system, Smith said alternative transportation is a priority for the district.

But the district is also wrestling with affordable housing and managing growth.

Sullivan was a positive voice in Olympia on those issues, and Smith would like to pick up some of Sullivan’s bills that haven’t progressed, Smith said.

“I have got the experience in Olympia to help those along,” he said.