Candidates focus on budget, youth violence, affordable housing
Published 1:30 am Saturday, October 18, 2025
EVERETT — Four City Council races will appear on Lynnwood voters’ ballots Nov. 4.
The election comes as the city faces a more-than-$10 million budget shortfall, which largely stems from lower-than-expected revenues from sales taxes, construction permits and red-light cameras.
In addition to the races for Positions 1 and 3 that appeared on the August primary ballot, Positions 2 and Position 5 are up for grabs. This year’s candidates talked priorities for addressing the budget shortfall, addressing youth violence and expanding affordable housing amid Lynnwood’s rapid growth. Lynnwood City Council members make about $1,650 per month.
The county began mailing ballots to voters Thursday.
Position 1
Derica Escamilla
In July 2024, the Lynnwood City Council appointed Escamilla to Position 1. She replaced former council member Shirley Sutton, who resigned in May 2024. In the August primary, Escamilla led with 47% of the vote.
In her primary campaign, Escamilla’s priorities were public safety, expanding human services and being transparent with the public.
Now, with the budget deficit, Escamilla said she wants to find ways to bring in new revenue. She said she’d be interested in looking into reallocating existing funding, such as opioid settlement funds.
In December 2024, Escamilla voted for a 52% property tax increase as part of the 2025-26 budget, increasing property taxes by $12 per month for the average property owner. Escamilla said the increase seemed necessary at the time to retain essential city employees. In May, she said that she “never felt like (she) had a choice in the matter.” Now, Escamilla says she doesn’t want to increase property taxes if the council can avoid it.
“I want to try everything in my being to look for every single source available before we increase property taxes,” she said. “I’m barely surviving as a single mom. I can’t imagine other families with what they make and everything getting more expensive.”
In August, the council established the city’s first Youth Council, an official city commission for people ages 14 to 19. Escamilla proposed the idea after two Lynnwood teens died from gun violence in 2022 and 2024. She co-chaired the youth council task force with council Vice President Josh Binda. Although she’s nervous about the fate of the Youth Council because of the budget shortfall, she said she’d look to find creative funding sources. For example, the council recently passed an ordinance to allow retail cannabis within city limits. Escamilla said the revenue from cannabis sales could pay for a staff liaison for the Youth Council.
Escamilla also wants to increase the council’s engagement with city commissions, especially the diversity, equity and inclusion commission. She supports bringing back commission liaison reports to council agendas.
Earlier this month, the Lynnwood Times reported that Escamilla’s dog was involved in multiple animal control incidents over the past two years. In October 2024, her dog, Sumo, injured two dogs. One of the dogs later died in the veterinary hospital as a result of the injuries, according to a police report. According to the report, the owner was not able to pay for surgery that would have saved the dog’s life and elected to euthanize the dog. In May, Sumo attacked another dog and injured the dog’s two owners in the process.
At an Oct. 7 council meeting, Escamilla said that her dog “has not bit a human.” She later clarified that the human injuries were from separating the dogs.
“I also want to emphasize that my priority is public safety, the peace of my community, and the humane care of Sumo,” Escamilla said in a statement to The Herald on Thursday. “Those goals are not in conflict; they go hand in hand. I understand that headlines may try to cast this situation in the most dramatic light. But I believe the facts, my actions, and my ongoing commitment to responsible ownership speak louder than any attempt to sensationalize.”
As of Friday, Escamilla received $10,145 in campaign contributions, state filings show.
Escamilla is endorsed by Snohomish County Democrats, Sage Leaders and the Affordable Housing Council, among other organizations. She also has endorsements from State Reps. Strom Peterson and Lauren Davis, Edmonds school board member Thom Garrard and Mountlake Terrace City Council member Steve Woodard, among other elected officials.
Dio Boucsieguez
In the primary, Boucsieguez trailed Escamilla with 35% of the vote. Boucsieguez is the leader of the cheese department at QFC in Mukilteo and a small-business owner.
In a June interview, Boucsieguez said he was “vehemently against” any property tax increases. He said raising property taxes disproportionately impacts working-class residents and seniors who are on fixed incomes. He would want an audit of the city’s finances before raising taxes.
“Don’t get me wrong, taxes are a necessary part of the world we live in, and they help fund essential services, but that’s not right,” he said in June, referring to the 52% property tax increase the council passed last year.
As Lynnwood continues to grow, Boucsieguez said he’d want to accommodate for growth while preserving the city’s working-class culture. He supports maintaining single-family zoning and creating an economic opportunity zone along Highway 99.
To address youth violence, he wants to invest in after-school programs and vocational programs and cultivate relationships between young people and police officers. He also supports bringing more arts and entertainment establishments to Lynnwood and revamping the City Council’s code of ethics.
“There have been distractions on the City Council in the past couple of years where a certain council member has really gotten away with breaking the ethics code to really no sense of punishment or remorse,” Boucsieguez said in June.
That “certain council member” is council Vice President Josh Binda, Boucsieguez confirmed. Earlier this year, Boucsieguez challenged Binda’s residency, alleging he didn’t live at his listed Lynnwood address. In April, the Snohomish County auditor dismissed the challenge. In 2023, Boucsieguez ran a failed recall campaign against Binda, alleging a number of ethics violations.
In 2018, Boucsieguez ran as a Republican for a state House seat in the 32nd Legislative District against Cindy Ryu. He also ran for City Council in 2019.
In August, Lynnwood Today reported that Boucsieguez had released music with racist lyrics, including a racial slur and references to blackface. In August, he told Lynnwood Today that he did not upload the songs online, but he had performed them in the past. As of Friday, the songs no longer appear on the Spotify profiles.
“This doesn’t represent the character of who I am today,” Boucsieguez said in a statement to The Herald on Friday. “The person who recorded it, almost seven years ago, is someone with whom I haven’t associated since college because he was a negative influence in my life.”
As of Friday, Boucsieguez received $8,790 in campaign contributions, state filings show.
Boucsieguez is endorsed by the Lynnwood Police Guild, Washington Retail Association, and the local firefighters union, among other organizations. He also has endorsements from Lynnwood City Council member Patrick Decker, former Lynnwood City Council member Shannon Sessions and Snohomish County Council members Nate Nehring and Sam Low, among other elected officials.
Position 2
Ki Seung Cho
Cho is one of two newcomers vying for the seat currently held by Patrick Decker, who has served on the City Council since 2022 and is not running for reelection. Cho is a grandmaster in Taekwondo and has owned a taekwondo school in Lynnwood for nearly 30 years. Cho also serves as president of The Federation of Korean American Associations of Northwest States, USA.
“Lynnwood deserves leadership grounded in respect, kindness, and integrity—values I have embraced through Taekwondo and community service,” Cho said in his statement in the local voters’ pamphlet. “Strength is more than physical ability; it comes from discipline, self-control, and a commitment to uplifting those around us. These principles guide my approach to leadership.”
On his website, Cho lists public safety, economic growth and fiscal responsibility as his main priorities. Cho did not respond to requests for an interview.
“As a business owner for nearly 30 years, I’ve had the privilege of connecting with our diverse community,” Cho said in his statement in the local voters’ pamphlet. “I want to bring this perspective to the Lynnwood City Council, fostering a safer environment for residents and supporting economic growth. A secure community strengthens local businesses, and I believe interest-based outreach programs for at-risk youth will help build a brighter future for all.”
To improve public safety, Cho said he wants to work with police, schools and local leaders. He’d support education on violence prevention and more youth programs. His website says the city must give “real resources” to police as well as fair oversight.
In terms of the city’s financial growth, he wants “responsible development” near the light rail station, making the Alderwood City Center more vibrant. He wants to support small businesses and affordable housing. Cho said he supports tools like tax increment financing to pay for large projects.
“I will bring a small business mindset to City Council with smart spending, clear goals, and an open budget,” he said. “I want every dollar spent to meet real community needs.”
As of Friday, Cho received $25,176 in campaign contributions, state filings show.
Cho is endorsed by Lynnwood City Council member Patrick Decker, Snohomish County Council member Nate Nehring, and former Lynnwood City Council members Shannon Session and Julieta Altamirano-Crosby, among others. He also has endorsements from Lynnwood Police Guild and Moms Demand Action.
Isabel Mata
Mata is a mindfulness teacher and freelance writer. She said she’s always been passionate about social justice and wanted to take action by running for local office.
“I wanted to stand up and be a community leader so that I could help make sure that the people in Lynnwood stay safe, especially the most vulnerable members, so immigrants, people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, everybody who the Trump administration is targeting,” Mata said. “I wanted to be somebody on the council that they could rely on to have their backs.”
In addressing the budget crisis, Mata said it’s important to prioritize sustainable revenue sources so the city can break the cycle of having to rebuild after economic downturns.
“My approach to the budget crisis is to look at the makeup of our revenue right now as a city and see how we can make more creative choices to bring revenue into the city so that we’re not constantly relying on volatile sources of revenue like our sales tax, traffic cameras and property taxes,” she said.
Mata recently sent a list of about 30 revenue-generating ideas to the council. One idea was to increase paid parks and recreation programming, since the department has a large gap in expenses versus revenues, she said. She said she’s open to raising property taxes, as long as new revenue goes along with it.
To address youth violence, she would advocate for more “third spaces” where kids can spend time outside of school.
“Maybe it’s a 24-hour diner, or an indoor mini putt-putt or just adjusting some of the hours of some coffee shops so we have some safe spaces for these teens to hang out,” Mata said.
She added that the Lynnwood Neighborhood Center could be a “third space” for teens if it’s open late enough.
Mata supports the city’s new Crisis Care Center, and emphasized that people need to opt into it and understand the benefits of it, so it’s important for the city to educate the public.
“There’s a lot of community education that has to happen over the next few months to show people that the city wants to support you and wants to be there as a resource,” she said.
She supports adding more affordable housing, and said she’d like to see Lynnwood remain more affordable than Seattle. She’d also like to see more temporary housing in Lynnwood, so people don’t have to travel to Everett or Seattle.
Another priority for Mata is emphasizing community connection, especially with the prevalence of social media and remote work.
“Whether or not people know their neighbors, I want them to at least know me and know that I’m somebody that they can call when they have something going on,” she said. “I may not be able to fix it or help them, but I can listen. And that, to me, makes the biggest difference.”
As of Friday, Mata received $13,432 in campaign contributions, state filings show.
Mata is endorsed by Snohomish County Democrats, Lynnwood Police Guild and Snohomish County Indivisible, among other organizations. She also has endorsements from Lynnwood City Council member Derica Escamilla, Snohomish County Council member Jared Mead and State Rep. Lauren Davis, among other elected officials.
Position 3
Josh Binda
Binda has served in Position 3 since 2022. He also runs his own public speaking business. In the primary, Binda slightly trailed Bryce Owings with 33% of the vote.
Despite the budget shortfall, Binda said his priorities for this election cycle remain the same. In May, he said his priorities were affordability, safety and opportunity.
Binda said he wants to keep in mind the effects that cuts will have on residents. He was disappointed with cuts made to the city’s diversity, equity and inclusion program last month, he said.
“In the current climate we’re at, where DEI is being attacked, that wasn’t something that I was in favor of,” Binda said. “I’m hoping going forward when it comes to the budget it’s all of us putting our heads together and deciding what we think is best.”
Binda is the chair of Fair Pay Lynnwood, a committee working to get a minimum wage initiative on a future ballot. The initiative, modeled after the one Everett passed in November 2024, would raise the minimum wage to $20.24 per hour. He said he’s also looking into raising the minimum wage through a city ordinance, which the council can pass without voter approval.
Binda also supports increasing affordable housing, improving public transit resources, and investing in mental health support and wellness programs.
“Everyone deserves to have a safe home, healthy food and access to care when they’re sick, and I really have been focused on lowering costs and making sure families have what they need to live well and thrive,” he said in May.
In his time on the council so far, he said he’s proud of his work to create the Youth Council and supporting funding for the Lynnwood Neighborhood Center, mental health support staff for Edmonds School District, and the Lynnwood Police Department’s gun buyback program.
Earlier this month, the Lynnwood Times reported that Binda did not have a degree from Western Governors University as he claimed in his statement in the official local voters’ pamphlet.
According to screenshots of his completed coursework Binda provided to The Herald, Binda has satisfied the course requirements for his degree. However, he said he is waiting to apply for graduation until after the election and does not currently have a degree.
As of Friday, Binda received $5,222 in campaign contributions, state filings show.
Binda is endorsed by Snohomish County Democrats, Snohomish County Indivisible and the Washington State Progressive Caucus, among other organizations. He also has endorsements from Lynnwood City Council member Derica Escamilla, Snohomish County Council member Megan Dunn, and Edmonds City Council members Chris Eck and Susan Paine, among other elected officials.
Bryce Owings
In the primary, Owings took a slight lead over Binda with 35% of the vote. Owings is an instructor for Edmonds College’s Construction Pre-Apprenticeship Program and serves as treasurer for the local carpenters union.
Owings’ priorities include affordable housing, public safety and expanding local labor.
“One of the biggest revenue generators in Lynnwood is sales tax, and I think if we can get that money in the hands of the people that live here, that’s going to trickle up to the businesses around here,” he said in May. “We should try to keep some of that money here, instead of having outside labor come and do the work in Lynnwood.”
In May, he said he’d rather focus on raising local sales tax revenue than dramatically increase property taxes.
“At the end of the day, we do need money to go around,” he said. “I just wish that we planned it out a little more where we could raise it a little bit over time.”
To address homelessness, Owings supports working with police, expanding sanitary stations and temporary housing, and working with trade unions to provide jobs for people after they’ve transitioned into stable housing. He also wants to connect young people with trade unions to help address youth violence.
“I think a lot of that stems from, maybe they don’t think that there is a future, maybe they think that if they’re not able to go to college, there’s nothing,” he said. “It’s not going to fix the problem completely, but just one route, I think, would be giving these children some hope.”
Over the past 20 years, Owings has been convicted of 10 misdemeanors, including ones relating to domestic violence and illegal drug possession.
“My past doesn’t define me — what defines me is the life I’ve built since,” Owings said in a statement to The Herald earlier this month. “I’ve turned my experience into purpose, mentoring others and helping families who face the same kinds of struggles I once did. Through that work, I’ve learned that redemption isn’t about forgetting where you’ve been — it’s about what you do next and how you use your story to make a difference.”
As of Friday, Owings received $9,329 in campaign contributions, state filings show.
Owings is endorsed by the Lynnwood Police Guild, 32nd District Democrats and Snohomish & Island County Labor Council, among other organizations. He also has endorsements from U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, State Sen. John Lovick and former Lynnwood City Council members Julieta Altamirano-Crosby and Shannon Sessions, among others.
Position 5
Robert Leutwyler
Leutwyler was appointed to Position 5 in March after former Council Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby resigned to serve as a commissioner for the Snohomish County Public Utilities District. After two of the council’s appointees resigned and several other candidates withdrew from consideration, Leutwyler was the last remaining candidate. Leutwyler previously ran for Lynnwood City Council in 2023.
Leutwyler is a U.S. Army veteran and currently works as program manager for international retirement savings plans at Amazon. He previously served on the city’s planning commission. He was interested in running for City Council because Lynnwood has become his new home, he said. Leutwyler moved to Lynnwood in 2018, and he said he sees himself staying in the city for many years.
In his time on the council so far, he supported funding for an embedded social worker and medication-assisted treatment in the city’s new jail. He’s also made it a priority to meet with directors to understand how they operate and the challenges they face.
Regarding the budget, Leutwyler said he’s trying to act with urgency and advocate for the council spending more time on discussing the pros and cons of cuts and potential revenue sources. He argues the budget shortfall is worse than $10.7 million because of deferred maintenance of roads, parks and infrastructure.
“We’ve been millions of dollars short in funding each year to keep up with basic road maintenance, much less some of the improvements that residents have asked for, like sidewalks and things like that,” Leutwyler said.
Leutwyler said the city is still recovering from the 2008 recession, such as police staffing that hasn’t been restored to 2008 levels. He’d advocate for more sustainable revenue sources and staying away from relying on sales taxes. He wants to make sure the council looks at all its options thoroughly and publicly. Some ideas he’s looked into so far include a public safety sales tax, business and occupation tax and raising car tab fees. He said he needs more information before making any firm decisions on tax increases.
Leutwyler’s other priorities include affordable housing, public safety and accessibility. He wants to hear from developers now that the city has passed its development code, support police officers and social workers to strengthen emergency response and make streets safer for pedestrians. He said he’d be interested in adopting a Vision Zero plan, which would envision ways to eliminate fatal crashes within the city.
“I’ve got the experience and the commitment to tackle those issues and try to help keep Lynnwood being a great place for people to live now and in the future,” Leutwyler said.
As of Friday, Leutwyler received $11,498 in campaign contributions, state filings show.
Leutwyler is endorsed by the Lynnwood Police Guild, Snohomish County Democrats and the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund, among other organizations. He also has endorsements from State Sens. Jesse Salomon and Marko Liias and Snohomish County Council members Strom Peterson and Jared Mead, among other elected officials.
Mpiima Mugambe
Mugambe is a first-time candidate and a clinical supervisor with the Downtown Emergency Service Center in Seattle. He’s also volunteered with the Lynnwood Police Department Citizens Patrol. He said the struggles he’s seen people face as a social worker inspired him to run for local office.
“Most of the decisions that are made at the county level and city level are the decisions that affect our communities for them to end up in therapy rooms, hospital rooms on the street, etc.,” he said. “Bringing my human-centric lens to the Lynnwood City Council will help craft policies or codes that are going to support our community.”
His first step in addressing the budget shortfall would be reevaluating current contracts and investments, while keeping in mind the impact cuts would have on residents. He supports participatory budgeting, in which the community would have input on every aspect of the budget through additional town halls and community surveys.
“The council members get to be involved in the community, which is OK, but then we get to think that we are the only people who can think for the community without drawing back to them for advice, which is dangerous,” Mugambe said.
To improve financial sustainability, Mugambe supports encouraging local developers to build small retail malls around Highway 99 to increase the portion of sales tax going to Lynnwood. He’d work to streamline the permitting process for small businesses.
Mugambe supports increasing property taxes, but only for properties that are valued at $1 million or more, he said. While the council can’t set that threshold, the city could provide additional waivers for low-income families, he said.
Mugambe is the treasurer of Fair Pay Lynnwood. Mugambe wants to increase affordable housing and provide more supportive services for people experiencing homelessness, including a permanent supportive housing facility.
“We cannot give them the services and assume that they will be successful without being housed,” he said. “That’s how important permanent supportive housing is.”
For public safety, Mugambe supports community policing and expanding mental health crisis teams for emergency response. He also wants to address youth violence by continuing the work with the Youth Council.
As of Friday, Mugambe received $9,539 in campaign contributions, state filings show.
Mugambe is endorsed by Snohomish County Democrats, Sage Leaders and Alliance for Gun Responsibility, among other organizations. He also has endorsements from State Rep. Lauren Davis, State Sen. Rebecca Saldana and Snohomish County Council member Megan Dunn, among other elected officials.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
