Two applicants to fill Edmonds Council vacancy expect to file in May
Published 10:08 am Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Two of the 10 applicants for the vacant position on the Edmonds City Council say they expect to run in the coming election with or without getting appointed to the vacant position.
Both Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Adam Cornell and retired Qwest Communications Public Policy Director David Teitzel have registered with the state Public Disclosure Commission as candidates for the City Council.
Each says that he plans to file in May for one of the council positions on this year’s ballot, either the last two years of the four-year term for the now-vacant position that former Councilman Strom Peterson won in 2013 or one of the four-year terms for the positions now held by Council members Joan Bloom, Diane Buckshnis, Thomas Mesaros and Lora Petso.
Registering with the PDC allows candidates to raise and spend money for the coming election. Early registration is a sign of an intent to run. All candidates who file for ballot position must register with the PDC.
Candidates file for ballot positions in early May. Positions with three or more candidates appear on the August primary ballot, with the top two vote getters advancing to the November general-election ballot. Positions with only one or two candidates appear only on the November ballot.
Neither Cornell nor Teitzel has reported any fundraising or spending.
Cornell, Teitzel and eight others have applied for appointment to the vacant position. The six current council members plan to interview the ten applicants Tuesday, with four of the interviews scheduled for between 5 and 7 p.m. and six between 8 and 11 p.m. The regular council business meeting is scheduled for 7-8 p.m.
The council plans to vote on the appointment March 3.
The council has 90 days from Peterson’s Jan. 6 resignation to name a new council member. Otherwise, the five-member Snohomish County Council would have 90 additional days to fill the vacancy. If neither body is able to reach a decision, the governor would make the appointment.
Peterson left the council to begin the term in the state legislature that he won in November.
Other applicants to replace Peterson are Mario Brown; Stephen Clifton, a former Edmonds economic development director; Debbie Matteson, a member of the Edmonds Economic Development Commission; Michael Jay Nelson; David Preston, an Edmonds port commissioner; Alvin Rutledge, a former council and legislative candidate; Jeff Scherrer, a Republican candidate in the 21st Legislative District in 2015; and Neil Tibbott, an Edmonds Planning Board member who was an applicant in 2014, when the council appointed Mesaros to replace former Councilman Frank Yamamoto.
The person appointed would serve through certification of the November election, when voters will choose someone to fill the last two years of the term that Peterson won in 2013.
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.
