EVERETT – A 38-year-old field representative with a major pharmaceutical company who is involved with a number of civic activities announced his candidacy for the City Council on Friday.
Shannon Affholter, who works for drug maker Merck &Co., said the city’s growth demands a new voice on the council, and he is the person to deliver it. He said he will run for Position 7.
“This is just a real special time in the history of Everett,” he said. “There are decisions that are going to be made that will have a monumental impact, not only on my children’s lives, but on lives for generations to come.”
Councilman Bob Overstreet, who has held Position 7 for 30 years, hasn’t announced whether he will seek re-election to another four-year term in November.
Overstreet, 70, was sworn into office for the first time in December 1976.
Affholter, a city parks board member and organizer with the Northwest Neighborhood block watch program, cited traffic, crime and economic development as his top three campaign issues.
Affholter filed candidate registration forms with the state Public Disclosure Commission on Jan. 8. To date, he has raised $3,000 for the November campaign.
Public records show that Overstreet hasn’t started fundraising. In the 2003 election, he raised $10,109. The veteran incumbent held on to his seat in that election, handily defeating challenger Jim Staniford.
Affholter, a native of Toppenish, a small community 20 miles southeast of Yakima, has lived in Everett with his wife, Shannon Lee Affholter, for 10 years.
The couple have two children and live in northwest Everett.
Reporter David Chircop: 425-339-3429 or dchircop@heraldnet.com.
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