By Theresa Goffredo
Herald Writer
MARYSVILLE — The city of Marysville grew 145 percent during the last 10 years, so it’s no surprise that when residents aren’t talking about growth, they’re talking about the traffic caused by growth.
Mirroring Marysville’s mood, candidates running for city council are balancing their campaign promises squarely atop growth issues, whether it’s the goal of improving traffic, cleaning the environment, providing more parks and public safety, or managing the beast of growth itself.
Each council position is a four-year term, and each member is paid $400 a month, plus reimbursement for expenses incurred during the performance of their duties. In addition, council members are paid $50 a day for a variety of council meetings, not to exceed 10 days a month. Four seats will be filled in the Nov. 6 general election.
Four years ago, NormaJean Dierck was asked by voters what she could do about growth. Today, the incumbent says she has worked to ensure that the costs of growth are "fairly paid by those who profit from the growth."
Dierck says she has supported increased developer-paid school mitigation fees to the level requested by the school district.
"Voters should re—elect me because I’ve been effective in keeping my election promises, which is evident by the vast amount of money raised by large developers to defeat me," Dierck said.
Also during her first term, Dierck said she focused attention on the pollution in Marysville’s creeks and spurred the state Department of Ecology to develop a cleanup plan.
Dierck said she also rallied support for Snohomish County’s acquisition of Mother Nature’s Window, a wildlife area, and continues to fight to preserve farmland as open-space nature parks and athletic fields.
Tom Grady |
Dierck’s opponent, Tom Grady, also believes that homeowners shouldn’t bear the bulk of tax increases needed to pay for growth. To curb that, the city needs to focus on economic development by attracting new businesses to "help out schools and grow our parks inventory and expand senior services," Grady said.
Grady, a political novice who until recently worked for 30 years in the retail supermarket industry, says he wants to bring back respect and professionalism and reach out to all areas of the community.
"The voters will recognize I have a proven history with 13 years of community service, and they know I’m very approachable and they know I can get things done," Grady said.
Candidate Donna Wright is running unopposed.
The incumbent and a former city councilman agree that neither likes the way the city is operated. But that feeling caused opposite reactions in the men: One is leaving the council and the other is going in.
Incumbent Jim Brennick said he decided against running again because he "just didn’t like the way we’re doing business."
"The reason is my biggest observation having served 14 years on the school board and as a representative for the city, the majority of the population have seen the representation not go their way," Brennick said. "Look at the track record. Decisions have been controlled by a few and with people with money."
Candidate John Myers says he’s seen that the current council has an inability to communicate and can’t "accomplish things in a timely manner."
"The council doesn’t work well together, and it’s costing the city and taxpayers money, and I don’t like the direction it’s going at this time," Myers said.
Myers, who sat on the council four years ago, said the city should operate like a business. If elected, Myers said one of his main goals would be to solve the traffic problem.
"If I don’t have the answers to solve the problem, I can work with people to come up with the answers," Myers said.
Myers’ opponent, Jeff Seibert, has not done much campaigning since his daughter died in August, and has not responded to inquiries from The Herald.
For candidate Jon Nehring, growth in Marysville means more traffic. And to combat that, the city needs to expand its east-west corridor through town and add another exit off I-5 between 88th and 196th streets.
Growth has also meant a need for more ball fields. "And I think it needs to be done as quickly as possible, because the school district fields are getting pounded and people are tired of carting their kids to Everett," Nehring said.
Nehring, a political newcomer who is endorsed by the Marysville firefighters local No. 3219, also believes that growth needs to be managed, meaning infrastructure such as roads has to be built first before growth occurs. And growth needs to pay for itself, Nehring said.
"We need to be broadening our tax base," he said. "Bringing in an industrial sector, and we need to pro-actively get there. And why not have a few more restaurants. Why not a Black Angus or Red Robin?"
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Tim Bond |
Nehring’s opponent, Tim Bond, also a political novice, also believes in going after a broader tax base in Marysville by courting businesses that would have a "benign" effect on the city’s environment, such as high-tech industry or a satellite college campus.
"We need to create economic diversity to give us a tax base instead of tapping time and again into the citizens," said Bond, who is being endorsed by the Washington Conservation Voters and the Snohomish County labor council.
Bond also plans on getting input from all stakeholders if elected. "I want to be a representative," Bond said. "My position is that Marysville should be run for and of the people. When I’m elected, I’ll be totally accessible either via e-mail or phone so people can let me know how they feel."
After 12 years of public service, incumbent Donna Pedersen said it’s time to do something else. But it won’t be putting her feet up.
"I’ve got grandkids, and I’m president of my church council, so I have a lot on my plate," Pedersen said. "And there are some younger people stepping up, and this will give them the opportunity."
You can call Herald Writer Theresa Goffredo at 425-339-3097
or send e-mail to goffredo@heraldnet.com.
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