LYNNWOOD — Rebecca Thornton will be Lynnwood’s new city council member, replacing former Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby.
In January, Altamirano-Crosby resigned from her position to serve as a commissioner for the Snohomish County Public Utility District. The council received 19 applications for her replacement and chose the top eight earlier this month to interview. The council interviewed seven applicants Tuesday after one dropped out.
On Thursday evening, the council narrowed the candidates down to one. In the third round of voting, the council was split between Thornton and former city council candidate Robert Leutwyler. Josh Binda, Derica Escamilla and David Parshall voted for Thornton while George Hurst, Nick Coelho and Patrick Decker voted for Leutwyler.
After about five minutes in executive session, the council voted unanimously to appoint Thornton to the vacant position.
During her interview Tuesday, Thornton said she is a proud Washingtonian. She’s lived in the north Seattle area since 2002 and in Lynnwood since 2019. Thornton has two kids who were born during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I’m no stranger to tough situations and dedication to one’s community,” she said.
Thornton works at the University of Washington as an assistant director for the business school’s consulting and business development center. Her work focuses on helping small minority-owned and woman-owned businesses grow. She said she would use her experience managing endowments in her role on the council and that she looks forward to doing a deep dive into Lynnwood’s budget. Thornton also said she would have voted “yes” on the 2025 property tax levy.
“It’s not always fun to tax people, unfortunately, but we all signed a social contract to be part of a community and to be part of a city,” she said. “I believe that sometimes you do have to tax your citizens, but it should be a last resort.”
Thornton said she deeply values community and has worked to build a small community of moms in her neighborhood.
“As the older generations move out of their homes and newer generations come in, we’re finding that community is deeply wanted, but we’re all a little afraid of each other,” she said. “And so it just takes somebody to knock on the door, introduce themselves, say, ‘I’m not crazy, I just want to say hi,’ and create friendships and that community.”
Thornton will be sworn-in at the council’s next meeting on Feb. 24.
Jenna Peterson: 425-339-3486; jenna.peterson@heraldnet.com; X: @jennarpetersonn.
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