EVERETT — Mayor Ray Stephanson is likely to face competition from a familiar name in local politics if he runs for re-election next year.
Snohomish County Councilman Brian Sullivan said he took an initial step this week toward competing for the mayor’s job in 2017 by filing campaign paperwork with the state Public Disclosure Commission. Sullivan called the move “exploratory,” but he also launched a campaign website, www.briansullivanforeverett.com.
Stephanson could not be reached immediately for comment.
In a release, Sullivan called Everett “a vibrant and wonderful city that is on the cusp of a renaissance.
“I look forward to talking with the Everett community and its leaders during this exploratory process,” he said. “I have a tremendous amount of support and encouragement already and I am excited for and humbled by this incredible opportunity.”
Sullivan, 58, was re-elected to his council job in a tight race last year. He was losing in election-night returns, but ended up beating Greg Tisdel, a long-time player in Everett’s economic development circles, by fewer than 500 votes.
Tisdel enjoyed strong backing from Stephanson and other prominent Everett Democrats.
Sullivan represents the council’s District 2 covering Mukilteo, Everett and the Tulalip areas. He’s been elected to the job three times, starting in 2007. His current term is set to expire at the end of 2019. Term limits would prevent him from running for the seat again.
He previously served as Mukilteo’s mayor and a state lawmaker. Sullivan also has a separate career in the restaurant business and is co-owner of Sully’s in Mukilteo. He moved to Everett about three years ago.
Stephanson, 69, has been in office since November 2003. That makes him the longest-serving mayor in the Everett’s history.
Before assuming that role, Stephanson had a long career as a telecommunications manager. He served on the Everett City Council in the 1980s. He returned to city government in the mid-1990s as an executive director under Mayor Ed Hansen.
Stephanson was most recently re-elected mayor in 2013, when he ran unopposed. Throughout his tenure, he’s staked out a pro-business agenda that looked to spur downtown construction projects, attract a Washington State University branch campus to town and support aerospace manufacturing, particularly the Boeing Co.
More recently, the mayor has pushed initiatives to address homelessness in the city, including housing and treatment programs. Sullivan said combating homelessness in the city also is one of his highest priorities.
Throughout his career, Sullivan has staunchly opposed commercial air service at Paine Field, which Stephanson strongly supports. With a company now in the permitting process to build a passenger terminal at the county-run airport, Sullivan said he’s changed his priority from stopping commercial passenger air service to mitigating effects, such as noise.
“I’m convinced that that project is moving forward,” he said.
The official filing period for candidates to enter the race is in May.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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