The race is on for the top job in Snohomish County government.
Polished Democratic politician Aaron Reardon wants another four years as county executive.
The only person between him and another term in the corner office is Republican Jack Turk, a businessman and magician who performs as “Turk the Magic Genie.”
Voters have until Nov. 6 to decide whether to stick with Reardon or switch to Turk. The job pays more than $138,000 and the winner will oversee about 3,000 employees and a roughly $700 million budget.
Reardon, 36, said he is running on his record and has the experience to continue to lead the county.
“We’ve proven over the last four years we can make a difference,” Reardon said. “We have a plan going forward. There’s more to do.”
Turk is a novice campaigner who has had just four months to muster support. He agreed to be drafted as a candidate by the county Republican Party after Sheriff Rick Bart unexpectedly dropped out of the race.
Turk paints Reardon as a gifted career politician, but one who hasn’t suffered the slings and arrows of running his own business.
“I have real business experience,” said Turk, 50. County government doesn’t “have people who have the perspective of living with regulations.”
Reardon has a huge head start in the race. He started campaigning in 2004 and has raised a record $300,000.
Turk has no money to spend, and is spreading word only through grass-roots meetings.
Reardon has spent $111,000 and has $194,000 in the bank. His signs are everywhere, including those proclaiming he’s “fighting for farmers” in rural areas.
This year’s race for county executive couldn’t be any more different than what voters saw in 2003.
Then, Reardon was one of six candidates running to succeed Democrat Bob Drewel, who was retiring because of term limits.
Nearly $1 million was spent on campaigning, including about $240,000 from Reardon; his share of political advertising was at least $145,000.
This campaign, Reardon has only posted a fraction of that for mailings and signs.
In Reardon’s four years in office, the county has not raised the general property tax rate. In fact, Reardon is proposing a 1 percent rollback in taxes in 2008.
That’s a cut of $675,000 from the county budget, or about $2.39 for the owner of a $300,000 home.
“The more he sounds like a Republican, the more Republicans vote for him. If he wants to come over to the dark side, go for it,” Turk said with a laugh.
Reardon said he has never hidden his fiscally conservative side. He’s proud at how county reserves have grown, fed by the strong economy and cost controls he said he put in place.
The county also has recovered from its poor credit rating.
“We’ve maintained sound management of taxpayers’ dollars while maintaining a balanced budget and not raising taxes,” Reardon said. “We focused heavily on public safety as a system, fast-tracked county construction projects that saved taxpayers millions. We have been innovative in our approach to saving farms and finding alternative sources of energy.”
Reardon doesn’t share a lot of details of his plans, preferring instead to spring them with fanfare.
That’s chafed members of the County Council — Republicans and Democrats — who have final say over policy and spending initiatives.
A Republican majority controlled the council the first two years of Reardon’s term. Even when Democrats moved to a 3-2 majority in 2006, things didn’t get easier.
The council approved a budget that Reardon refused to sign. He blasted them for spending more money than the county took in. Council members said Reardon was unnecessarily hoarding money when services were needed and reserves were strong.
This year, the council unanimously clipped Reardon’s wings, limiting his power to sign many contracts over $5,000. County Council chairman Dave Gossett said communication and trust were problems after word leaked that the county might be bankrolling a Boeing 787 party.
In August, a state examiner said Reardon and his staff illegally frustrated contract negotiations with the Superior Court Clerks’ Association. Reardon has appealed the decision.
Turk said the county should do a better job settling its contracts, especially with the court clerks and corrections officers.
At the outset, Turk envisioned a more playful race, performing magic in public parks. In the end, he limited it to tying balloon animals for kids at his booth at the county fair.
“I thought about putting magic more in the front of this, but decided that could possibly detract from people taking me seriously,” Turk said.
Turk said he has studied hard during his short sprint to Election Day.
“The top issue in this county is transportation,” he said. “It hits the people on the ground the most. They’re spending way too much time on the highways getting to and from work.”
He opposes Proposition 1, the $17.8 billion tax plan for road-and-transit projects, because it builds light rail. Even so, he’d like to see the road projects built.
Also, economic development gets short shrift in the county. Boosting jobs close to home can help keep commuters from clogging highways, he said.
“I represent a common-sense look at what problems we’re really trying to solve here, and can rally the resources together to get them fixed,” Turk said.
Reardon said he wants to launch better land-use planning of communities and corridors, and more carefully analyze how all housing growth is affecting the county roads and services.
“I have a vision for Snohomish County, with a contemporary government responsive to the needs of citizens and rooted in our record, one that can address the challenges that come with growth,” Reardon said.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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