By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE — Usually, candidates running for public office take every opportunity to stump.
But in the case of three candidates running for Marysville City Council, these politicians are choosing to boycott a public forum, claiming the motives of a co-sponsor are questionable.
Incumbent NormaJean Dierck, who is up for re-election for Position 1, and candidates Tim Bond and Jeff Seibert, who are running for Positions 4 and 3, respectively, announced Friday that they would not attend an Oct. 12 forum. They say the forum is being co-sponsored by a group that has a political agenda.
The candidates contend that public forums should only be sponsored by public service organizations such as the League of Women Voters.
"It’s a stacked deck, and I’m not playing their game," Dierck wrote in a prepared statement.
Bond and Seibert also voiced concerns.
"We’re all concerned citizens, not just the ones who contribute to the developer’s candidates," Bond said.
The sponsoring group in question is called Concerned Citizens of Marysville. The candidates claim the group is pro-development. Also, they claim Concerned Citizens is backing a slate of candidates "to further the interests of developers and the real estate industry rather than the concerns of average citizens," the candidates wrote in a letter to the Marysville Tulalip Chamber of Commerce.
The chamber is co-sponsoring the forum, at 7 a.m. Friday at the Marysville School District Office, 4220 80th St. NE.
The three candidates also blame Concerned Citizens for publicly targeting Dierck to remove her from office and for buying a newspaper advertisement that attacked her character shortly before the primary election.
"An interest group like this has no legitimacy in sponsoring a candidate forum," the letter read.
Steve Muller, chairman of Concerned Citizens, said Friday that his group did contribute about $1,000 to pay for coffee and doughnuts for the public during the forum. Other than that, Concerned Citizens has no involvement in organizing the forum, Muller said.
"No one from our committee is asking or formulating the questions or running the forum," Muller said. "I think the public needs to hear what candidates have to say, and a forum is a format to do that. If they choose not to attend, they are depriving the public of that information."
Chamber of Commerce director Caldie Rogers said the forum would go on without the three candidates. But she said she would be writing the three candidates to explain that the forum will be nonpartisan and made up of panelists who have expertise in city government.
"Whether or not they have sponsored the forum, CCM’s sponsorship is to ensure that all citizens can come. They have no control over what we say in our forums," Rogers said.
She said she was saddened that the three candidates won’t be able to make their positions clear to the public.
"The chamber lives on contributions, but we make it very clear that that organization can contribute but can’t dictate to the chamber," Rogers said. "We have a 30-member board who is trained in ethics, and it’s incredible how by the law we go. This is unfortunate."
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097
or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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