ARLINGTON — Former state lawmaker Elizabeth Scott, party activist Georgene Faries and Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick are the top choices of Republican Party officers to fill the state House seat vacated by John Koster.
The trio emerged as nominees for the appointment at a meeting Wednesday of 39th Legislative District precinct officers at Hadley Hall in Arlington.
Former Monroe mayor Robert Zimmerman and professional musician Bronn Journey also sought the appointment but neither garnered the required majority in four rounds of balloting, according to information provided and posted online by party officials.
Overall, Scott earned the top ranking after receiving 20 of 33 votes cast in the opening round of balloting. Faries will be ranked number 2 after she garnered 19 votes in the second round. No one got a majority in the third tally before Eslick edged Zimmerman 17-16 in the fourth.
Koster, of Arlington, resigned Aug. 31, eight months into his two-year term representing the district, which encompasses portions of Snohomish, Skagit and King counties. The person chosen to succeed him will serve through the 2018 election.
Because the district takes in parts of three counties, the elected council members and commissioners in all of them will have a say in who is appointed.
Scott, Faries and Eslick are slated for interviews with the Snohomish County Council at 8:45 a.m. Sept. 18 and the Skagit County Commission the following morning. They will be completing questionnaires, in lieu of interviews, for the King County Council.
Officials of the three counties are scheduled to gather at 2 p.m. Sept. 20 in the chambers of the Snohomish County Council to make a decision. While Scott is the first choice of precinct officers, the county leaders can choose any of the three nominees for the position.
Scott, of Monroe, is seeking to return to the state House seat she held for two terms before giving way to Koster. She was first elected as a 39th Legislative District representative in 2012 and re-elected in 2014. In 2016, she decided to run for Congress rather than seek a third state term. She wound up ending her campaign because of health issues.
Faries, of Arlington, is pursuing a political post for the first time. A stalwart party volunteer, she is in her fourth year as president of the Evergreen Republican Women’s Club and is the vice chairwoman of the 39th Legislative District Republicans.
Eslick is in her third term as mayor of Sultan after serving six years on the City Council. She is the founder and executive director of GROW Washington, a nonprofit business development center. In 2014, she made an unsuccessful run for Snohomish County executive.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.
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