GOLD BAR — The City Council in this mountain town is getting a makeover.
All told, four new faces will join the five-member council by January.
Despite the shift, only one seat will give voters a clear choice on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. Two positions are uncontested and one being filled through an appointment.
The contested race is for Position 2. It pits Christopher Wright, a relative newcomer to Gold Bar with a spotted past, against Susan Forbes, a decade-long resident who wants to expand her role in the city.
Wright has a criminal record, which includes a domestic violence offense in May 2006. He was found guilty of that misdemeanor and is currently serving probation.
He also had a drunken driving charge and another assault charge from 1993. All offenses were misdemeanors.
“People change,” he said. “I have turned a leaf in my life where I’m giving back to the citizens and giving back to society. I’ve paid my debt.”
Forbes said voters should weigh his record before the election.
“You have to be sure that type of behavior has stopped if you’re going to put somebody in office,” she said.
The four-year term on council pays $100 a month.
Forbes, 53, an administrative assistant, has lived in Gold Bar since 1999 and been a member of the planning commission since 2001.
“I care about what happens in the city,” she said.
Wright, 38, a telecommunications project manager, moved to Gold Bar from Stanwood in 2008. He decided to run because he wants to serve his new home.
He said residents are concerned about drug houses. If he wins office, he would try to improve the way the city deals with them.
“I will keep heat on that issue,” he said.
Forbes agrees the houses are an issue. She said the city needs to make sure the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, which is responsible for public safety in the city of 2,300, has the resources it needs to deal with them.
“The sheriff’s office tries really hard to keep on that, but they’ll close one down and they’ll open somewhere else,” she said.
Both agree the city’s budget is a concern, but neither have specific ideas about where to make cuts, if necessary.
Both also want greater transparency in government.
Wright said the city needs to make public records quickly available.
“The plan is to make everything available online,” he said.
He faults the actions of a resident who sued the city over public record requests, however.
City officials have said that suit has tied up staff time and been a drain on the budget.
Wright connects the lawsuit to his election opponent, saying Forbes supported the resident who filed the suit.
Forbes said she shouldn’t be judged for a friend’s actions. Ultimately the city needs to be more responsive to public records requests, she said.
“Putting in a request for public records isn’t in itself going to hurt the city,” she said. “It’s how the city handles that request that hurts the city.”
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Diana Hefley contributed to this report.
Who’s running
SUSAN FORBES
Age: 53
Occupation: Administrative assistant for the Highland Water District
CHRISTOPHER WRIGHT
Age: 38
Occupation: Project manager
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