In the mayor’s race, L

ittle, 57, who was first appointed and then elected to the seat in 2007, would like to see more retail opportunities in the city.

Planning that is under way for the development of the Lake Stevens Center around the Highway 9 and Highway 204 intersection and for 20th Street SE is going to help that become a reality, Little said. The center includes Frontier Village and other commercial properties around the area.

“Citizens are paying a healthy amount of their tax to the city based on property tax,” he said. “We need to balance that, and we need to not tax the citizens on their property tax and get it from goods and services.”

His opponent, Clark, 53, served on the council in 2005 and then quit to work for the city’s public works department. He left the job last year and said he isn’t happy with how the city is being managed. As mayor, he wants the city to fix and maintain roads and build up business areas.

“I would like to see us spend a lot less on theory and planning and more on public roads and maintenance,” Clark said. “My dream has been to put away the bedroom-community moniker.”

Clark would like to see the city lobby harder to receive federal and state funding to develop a business corridor between Lake Stevens and Granite Falls. The city’s business community has “been burdened by staff that puts regulation first.” One example, where Clark believes this is happening is with the Shoreline Master Program, a plan that establishes rules for the city’s shorelines and development within those areas.

The mayor is paid $1,200 a month.

For Position 5, Councilwoman Quigley, 50, wants a second term to “continue to develop one city around a lake.”

Quigley would like to see more job creation in the city, better traffic flow in areas including the Lake Steven Center and a pedestrian path around Lake Stevens. City annexations also have been a positive thing for the city overall, she said.

“I am very committed to do what I can to annex the entire area around the lake and make sure we’re listening and responsive to those new residents annexed,” she said.

Suhadolnik, 53, said his decision to run for office was ignited by a traffic ticket. A judge told him to take the matter of contesting the ticket up with City Hall and he did. Suhadolnik said his home was annexed into the city two years ago, and he was not happy about it. He is concerned about the city’s growth and protection of private property.

“The first thing I noticed is when it snowed this year I couldn’t go to work because they didn’t sand out the hill which the county always did and taxes have gone up,” he said.

He’d like to see an area in the city that is similar to town centers in Mill Creek or Redmond.

For Position 4, Tony Morea, 44, said he decided to run for City Council to become more involved in the city he has lived in since 2005.

“(Last) fall, I started attending council meetings to learn priorities and issues in the city and to see if I had input to give,” Morea said. “I felt myself wanting to stand up and give my opinion. I was hooked at that point.”

Morea would like to help bring more light industrial and retail businesses into the city to create more jobs. He also wants to work toward rezoning and redesigning areas such as Frontier Village and 20th Street SE so residents and visitors can have better access to shopping opportunities.

“Right now, it’s very cumbersome for a business to come into the community,” he said. “Utilities aren’t in place, the permitting process is convoluted. We need to make it easier.”

Todd Welch, 41, arrived in the Everett area in 1995 when he was stationed onboard the USS Ingraham. He served 20 years in the Navy.

Welch said he’s focused on fiscal responsibility, free market and individual freedom. He, too, would like to help bring more businesses into the city and improve road access at the Lake Stevens Center. As a council member he would make sure to be efficient with taxpayers’ money, he said.

“Recently the City Council budgeted for $15,000 of city funds to be donated to charities that assist in Lake Stevens with human services, but you cannot be charitable with other people’s money,” he said. “I believe in charity, but it comes from the individual’s heart and not from the government.”

Councilman John Spencer is running unopposed for a second term. Council members are paid $300 a month plus $50 a meeting for up to four meetings per month that they are appointed to attend.

Amy Daybert: 425-339-3491; adaybert@heraldnet.com.

Lake Stevens, Mayor

Arnie Clark

Age: 53

Occupation: Self-employed

Priorities: Restore the city as a happy, nice place to do business, live and work; not only talk about bringing jobs to the city but do it through lobbying; bring back an administration that believes in fixing roads and doing things for the public rather than just theory.

Vern Little

Age: 57

Occupation: Incumbent mayor of Lake Stevens; senior quality manager for the Boeing Co.

Priorities: Economic development; maintaining a health city budget; protection of the lake.

Lake Stevens, Position 4

Tony Morea

Age: 44

Occupation: Regional facilities management specialist for FEMA

Priorities: Bringing more business into Lake Stevens; improving the infrastructure in the city, specifically traffic; preserving the integrity of the lake and the natural resources surround it.

Todd Welch

Age: 41

Occupation: System administrator for Memory Lane

Priorities: Advancing the cities economy; city fiscal responsibility; and managing the city’s growth in a proper way to keep a small town feel.

Lake Stevens, Position 5

Suzanne Quigley

Age: 50

Occupation: Executive director, Listen and Talk, a therapy center that helps children with hearing loss

Priorities: Bringing family wage jobs to Lake Stevens; improving transportation including improving traffic flow and pedestrian access; and continuing to set the stage for high quality development of the city.

Craig Suhadolnik

Age: 53

Occupation: Business executive for Network Computing Architects

Priorities: Fiscal responsibility, private property protection, and control of irresponsible growth.