LYNNWOOD — Edmonds school board member Carin Chase,state Rep. Strom Peterson and public defender Colin McMahon are the top choices of Democratic Party officers to succeed Stephanie Wright on the Snohomish County Council.
The trio emerged as nominees at a virtual meeting of council District 3 precinct officers Thursday night.
Chase earned the top ranking by besting Peterson in a head-to-head vote of the 45 precinct committee officers. Peterson will be ranked second and McMahon secured the third spot by edging out Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, a former Edmonds City Council member, in the last round of balloting.
Following the vote, Chase issued a statement thanking precinct officers.
“I am prepared to step in immediately to fulfill the duties and obligations required by the vacated seat. If selected for council seat, position #3, I will commit to full-time service on the council,” she wrote.
Wright resigned Aug. 29 to take a job as a senior policy advisory for Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers. She left office with 16 months left in her third and final term.
It will be up to the four remaining council members — Democrats Megan Dunn and Jared Mead and Republicans Nate Nehring and Sam Low — to appoint one of the nominees to the seat.
They are tentatively scheduled to interview the nominees and make a decision on Sept. 29, according to Dunn, the council chair.
Strom Peterson
Whoever is chosen will represent District 3, which encompasses Lynnwood, Edmonds, Woodway and a swath of unincorporated Snohomish County. They will serve in the $126,571-a-year job through the November 2023 election. They will need to run and win in that election to secure a full four-year term.
Initially, seven Democrats sought to fill the vacancy: Chase, Peterson, McMahon, Fraley-Monillas, Lynnwood City Council Member Julieta Altamirano-Crosby, nonprofit executive Chris Eck, and Lynnwood planning commissioner Naz Lashgari.
But Altamirano-Crosby withdrew prior to the start of the meeting.
Chase, 58, won a seat on the Edmonds School District Board of Directors in 2015 and re-elected in 2019. She also serves on the Snohomish County Human Rights Commission.
She’s a party precinct officer and serves on the statewide committee for the Washington State Democratic Party. She is the daughter of former state lawmaker Maralyn Chase and served as state director for Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaign in 2020.
She has said she will step down from the school board if appointed.
Peterson, 54, was elected to the state House in 2014 and is currently running for re-election. He is chair of the Housing, Human Services and Veterans Committee. He also serves on the Capital Budget and the Civil Rights and Judiciary committees.
He spent six years on the Edmonds City Council before entering the Legislature. He and his wife owned the Cheesemonger’s Table cafe for two decades, until selling it last year. If appointed to the County Council, and re-elected to the state House, he said he intends to do both jobs.
Colin McMahon
Colin McMahon, 36, of Lynnwood, spent the past seven years working as a public defender in the county. He’s also a vice chair for the Snohomish County Democratic Central Committee.
In 2020, McMahon landed in the spotlight as he and three other local attorneys launched a recall against Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney. The effort, which overcame a challenge in the state Supreme Court, didn’t get on the ballot because organizers failed to collect enough signatures.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623;
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