County Council likely to fill vacant District 1 seat at meeting

Published 1:30 am Sunday, January 22, 2017

EVERETT — Snohomish County Council members are poised to make good on a pledge to move quickly to pick a new colleague to serve alongside them.

The council has scheduled interviews with three nominees Monday morning to fill a vacancy in District 1, representing northern parts of the county.

Marysville City Councilman Michael Stevens, Darrington Town Councilman Kevin Ashe and Stanwood Planning Commissioner Nate Nehring are in contention for the appointment. The Snohomish County GOP Central Committee selected them Jan. 14 from a field of nine candidates. The party indicated no preference among the finalists.

The council plans to interview each candidate separately, in public, starting at 8:45 a.m. The council is likely to appoint one of them at its 10:30 a.m. meeting.

Whoever wins would have to run for re-election later this year for a full four-year term.

The District 1 post became vacant Jan. 1 after Ken Klein left to take a job as an executive director working under County Executive Dave Somers. Because Klein is a Republican, it was up to his party to nominate successors. The council, where Democrats hold a 3-1 majority, gets to make the final selection.

The process is similar to one that unfolded after Somers, a Democrat who represented council District 5 covering eastern Snohomish County, was elected executive. Hans Dunshee won the appointment last year, but lost the election to Sam Low.

Stevens, 41, is a partner with Everett-based Dykeman Architects and has served on the Marysville City Council since 2010. He has promoted efforts to liven up downtown Marysville. He says his architectural background will help him take on land-use issues that would figure prominently into the county job.

Ashe, 63, is co-owner of the IGA supermarket in Darrington. He has served for 14 years on the Town Council and played an active role in helping the community come together after the deadly mudslide hit nearby in 2014. He has past experience working as a logger and mill worker, as well as a butcher at his family’s supermarket.

Nehring, 21, is a science teacher at Cedarcrest Middle School in Marysville. He serves as vice chairman of the Stanwood Planning Commission and is chairman of the 10th Legislative District Republicans. He is the son of Marysville mayor Jon Nehring.

Interviews are scheduled in council chambers on the eighth floor of the county’s Robert Drewel Building, 3000 Rockefeller Ave., Everett.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.