Decision time: Vacant state Senate seat to be filled Monday

BOTHELL — The state Senate will be getting a new Democratic member Monday.

And the state House of Representatives may as well.

The Snohomish and King county councils will meet together at 10 a.m. Monday to fill a vacancy in the 1st legislative District, a political territory encompassing communities in both counties. The joint meeting will be held in Bothell City Hall.

Rep. Derek Stanford of Bothell, who is in his fifth term, emerged earlier this month as the preferred choice of Democratic precinct officers to replace Guy Palumbo who resigned in May to return to the private sector.

Hillary Moralez, chairwoman of the Snohomish County Democrats, and Linda Tosti-Lane, a long-time party activist, are the other two nominees put forth by the party. Both women reportedly back Stanford.

If Stanford does get the job, he is expected to immediately submit his resignation from the House, clearing the way for the two county councils to proceed with appointing his replacement in the same meeting.

In anticipation of this possibility, the Democratic Party has put forth three nominees: Bothell City Councilwoman Davina Duerr, Moralez and Darshan Rauniyar, who ran for a state House seat in 2016.

(L-R) Davina Duerr, Hillary Moralez and Darshan Rauniyar.

Duerr received the most votes of precinct officers at a June 9 meeting. It took three rounds of balloting to get there. She and Moralez tied in the second tally. Then one person changed their allegiance to give Duerr the edge. All three are actively campaigning for the job.

In lieu of individual interviews Monday, each nominee for the Senate and House seats was asked to provide written answers to questions regarding their relevant experience, priorities for the district and state, strategy for collaborating with both political parties in Olympia and views on unfunded mandates.

Their responses are posted online as part of the Snohomish County Council agenda packet for the meeting.

“We have great candidates for each position,” said Terry Ryan, a Democrat and chairman of the Snohomish County Council. “No matter how it turns out, the citizens will be well-represented.”

Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.