County Council candidate Greg Stephens drops campaign

One of three Republicans in the race against incumbent Snohomish County Councilman Dave Somers wants to drop out because of health problems.

State law won’t let him.

Like it or not, Greg Stephens will be on the primary ballot for the 5th District. He could become the eventual victor, if voters ignore his wish to step out of the political spotlight.

“If he’s one of the top two vote-getters in the Aug. 18 primary, he’ll go on the Nov. 3 ballot,” county elections supervisor Wendy Mauch said. “If he wins the Nov. 3 election, he’ll have to resign.”

The official deadline to leave the race was June 11.

Stephens, 60, announced his intent to withdraw Thursday in an e-mail, saying he was “without resources or health to stand up to the mudslinging.”

His departure would thin the primary contest to Somers, a Democrat; Lake Stevens Mayor Vern Little, a Republican; and former Snohomish city councilman and mayor Steve Dana, also a Republican.

“I just don’t have it in me right now,” Stephens said in an interview. “It’s very reluctantly, and it’s the very last thing I would have contemplated earlier this year, but sometimes that’s just what life hands you.”

He is not endorsing any other candidate, he said.

Stephens has been recovering from a shattered wrist since May. It happened while working security at a Sheraton Hotel in Seattle and detaining a man in the lobby, he said.

At first, he thought it was a sprain. Later, he learned it was a serious fracture that would keep him in a cast for months.

As a candidate, Stephens wanted to stand up to developers, create a new city in the unincorporated Maltby area and help open a shooting range in the Sultan Basin. State records show he neither raised nor spent any money this year.

Somers said he has known Stephens a long time.

“I wish him well, I totally respect his decision,” he said.

Dana also wished Stephens well, but didn’t foresee the announcement having much of an impact.

“I think Vern and I are both capable candidates to stand up to Dave Somers, so I don’t think the voters are being cheated,” he said.

Little couldn’t be reached.

In 2005, Stephens ran as an independent, coming in a distant third to Somers and the former incumbent, Republican Jeff Sax. Somers’ margin of victory was less than the 2,852 votes Stephens garnered.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465 or nhaglund@heraldnet.com.