Three vie for fire district spot
Published 10:13 pm Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Increased fire protection for Mill Creek will be an issue when three candidates campaign in the August primary for a single position on the Fire District Board of Commissioners.
Candidate Frank Porembski told me two weeks ago that he believes that Mill Creek should have six people on every shift instead of the current three.
Porembski, of Snohomish, and Brad Ray, of Bothell, are challenging incumbent Neil Doherty in the August primary, with the top two to meet in the November general election.
Neither Doherty nor Ray has responded to my questions.
More intra-council battles around the county
Last week I compared Mill Creek City Councilwoman Mary Kay Voss’ electoral challenge to fellow Councilman Terry Ryan with intra-council challenges in Mountlake Terrace, Lynnwood and Lake Forest Park.
Now I find that it’s happening in other parts of Snohomish County. In Monroe, a councilman is challenging the mayor, and a Snohomish City Councilman challenged another councilman then saw the other councilman drop out.
This is happening on city councils, but not on school boards, county boards or the state legislature. That’s because members of those bodies represent districts.
A protest against state election system
The two candidates in our County Council district list their party preference as Democrat (incumbent Dave Gosset) and Republican (challenger Box Meador), but it’s not that way in eastern Snohomish County, where Democratic Councilman Dave Somers faces three challengers. One lists his party preference as “Republican,” one lists it as “Rep” and one lists it as “GOP.”
It sounds like last year’s nonsense that had at least 20 candidates around the state, including gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, listing their party preferences as “Grand Old Party” or “GOP” rather than Republican. One candidate listed his preference as “No New Taxes Party,” and another listed the “Salmon Yoga Party.”
Of course, there is no “No New Taxes Party,” or “Salmon Yoga Party,” and “GOP” and “Grand Old Party” are just nicknames for the Republican Party.
To protest the nonsense, Krist Novoselic, formerly of the band Nirvana, filed to run for Wahkiakum County clerk, using the party preference “Grange Party.”
Once Novoselic made his point, he withdrew.
In January, the Legislature will consider a bill requested by Secretary of State Sam Reed that would limit party preferences to groups that have won recognition by submitting petitions with at least 25 signatures.
Evan Smith can be reached at entpolitics@heraldnet.com.
