EVERETT — A local state representative, a Mill Creek city councilmember and the mayor of Mountlake Terrace have been nominated to fill a vacant seat on the Snohomish County Council.
The council now has until April 9 to pick one of them to replace former County Councilman Terry Ryan, who stepped down in February.
Per the county charter and state Constitution, the Snohomish County Democratic Party picked three nominees: state Rep. Jared Mead, of Mill Creek, Mill Creek Councilwoman Stephanie Vignal and Mountlake Terrace Mayor Kyoko Matsumoto Wright.
The party’s elected officers for each precinct within District 4 chose the contenders at a meeting Saturday, said Hillary Moralez, chairwoman of the county Democrats. Mead emerged as the party favorite.
In the first round of voting, Mead garnered the most votes, with 20 ballots cast in his favor. Vignal was the runner-up, winning 14 votes. Matsumoto Wright and Colin McMahon, a staff attorney at the Snohomish County Public Defender Association, tied with four votes each. Two people voted for candidate Herbie Martin. No one voted for Nichole Webber, a sixth candidate.
Matsumoto Wright beat McMahon in a runoff election, 24-20.
Then in a final election Saturday, the party precinct officers cast 24 votes for Mead, 17 votes for Vignal and 3 votes for Matsumoto Wright.
If the council can’t choose between the three nominees by April 9, then Gov. Jay Inslee will have another 30 days to make an appointment to the seat.
District 4 spans suburban areas, mostly east of Interstate 5, and includes Mill Creek, Brier, Mountlake Terrace and part of Bothell, along with unincorporated areas such as Silver Firs and Thrashers Corner.
Ryan, a Mill Creek Democrat, was chosen by Snohomish County Executive Dave Somers to become the county’s first-ever director of aerospace economic development.
If the person appointed to the seat wishes to serve the rest of the term, which concludes at the end of 2021, then he or she must run for election in November.
Rachel Riley: 425-339-3465; rachel.riley@soundpublishing.com. Twitter: @rachel_m_riley.
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