Former Lynnwood Councilman Jim Smith surviving tough three-way primary

Published 11:21 am Friday, August 9, 2013

Former Lynnwood City Councilman Jim Smith is apparently surviving a tight three-way primary for a position on the council that Councilman Mark Smith gave up to run for mayor.

Jim Smith held second place among three candidates in the latest results released Thursday for this week’s primary. Smith had 33.82 percent of the vote to 34.01 percent for City Planning Commission member Ian Cotton and 31.78 percent for City Diversity Commission Chairwoman Shirley Sutton.

Smith was a council member until 2011, when he lost in the November election to current Councilman Van AuBuchon by 10 votes after a hand recount.

The top two vote-getters in the primary advance to the Nov. 5 general election.

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.