Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon trumped Donald Trump Thursday evening at Everett Station.
Reardon held his first of five "community conversations" to get county residents’ views on budget priorities, and the audience of roughly 60 quickly grew to a standing-room-only crowd. But the evening of budget talk ran head-to-head against the prime-time finale of Trump’s hit television show.
"I appreciate that you put me ahead of Donald Trump. It means a great deal," Reardon told the crowd.
It was the first night of an extended road show, where Reardon will hold meetings throughout the county to talk about budget priorities.
The county is facing dire financial times. Tax-cutting initiatives and the dismal economy have left the budget sputtering. Although the county expects to take in roughly $170 million in revenues next year, expenses will outpace those revenues and the county’s budget gap could be as high as $16.6 million.
Reardon hopes residents will help him focus on where the county’s limited funds should be spent.
At the first community conversation, the audience did just that. They used remote control-sized devices to cast votes to set priorities for the county. The results were quickly tallied and displayed on a large screen.
After ranking priorities — education, public health and safety were the top three — the crowd was asked to divvy up $100 on the county’s top priorities.
But the first questions of the poll showed many in the crowd were well aware of the county’s dire financial condition; over half knew the exact size of the budget deficit.
Almost half of those attending were county employees, or people who owned their own companies. And 70 percent were over 45 years old.
Although Reardon’s effort to get input was well-received, some weren’t shy about saying what they didn’t like about the polling. People said the choices were too limited — there were no questions about how many in the county were unemployed or retired — and others said the list of funding priorities should include issues such as immigration and the environment.
"I didn’t see much conversation," said Ruth Westbrook, president of the Snohomish County Bar Association. "When you say ‘community conversation,’ that’s almost sit down with the county executive, have a chat. I think that’s what the general public came here expecting."
Reardon, however, said some people don’t like to speak out in public. And though some told Reardon they wanted to talk about other issues, such as the NASCAR proposal, Reardon said he wanted peoples’ views on the budget.
"A town hall would not help me and my staff make decisions about the budget," Reardon said.
Reporter Brian Kelly: 425-339-3422 or kelly@heraldnet.com.
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