EVERETT — Snohomish County Councilman Dave Gossett said his skill at creating lines of communication among his colleagues would make him a good candidate for council chairman in 2010.
The Democrat may have proved his point Monday when he secured the post with unanimous support. The united vote showed no sign of disagreement among the five councilmen.
“It’s certainly going to be one of my main goals this year to build a consensus with the other members of the council so that we can do the things that we need to do for the citizens of the county,” Gossett said afterward.
The chairman heads the council’s efforts to draft the county budget and takes a lead in administrative duties. The post pays $113,000 a year, 10 percent more than the other councilmen’s $102,779 salary.
Outgoing Chairman Mike Cooper said he expected his successor to confront some of the same budgeting challenges as he faced last year.
“The chair that’s elected this year will have an equally difficult time managing things through this year and leading up to the 2011 budget,” Cooper said.
The council also voted in Councilman Dave Somers as the 2010 vice chairman.
Councilman Brian Sullivan also was interested in being chairman, but didn’t have the necessary votes. All current members on the council have been chairman at least once, except Sullivan.
The political party in power, in this case the Democrats with four of the five council seats, generally rotates the job among its members.
Often, the vice chairman from the previous year is next in line to be chairman. Gossett was vice chairman in 2009, as well as chairman in 2007.
Gossett is a former Mountlake Terrace city councilman and mayor. He is starting his third County Council term, having won re-election to the District 4 council seat in November, garnering 56 percent of the vote against a Republican challenger.
Before being elected to the council, Gossett spent his days wading through policy issues as a legislative analyst for the County Council.
In a heated public exchange last year, Gossett clashed with County Executive Aaron Reardon over whether he and another councilman urged the executive to veto a ban on rural mini-city developments that a majority of the council passed.
Gossett later voted to override Reardon’s veto and support the ban.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
