Democrat Brian Sullivan is a veteran of Mukilteo City Hall, the Legislature and the Snohomish County Council, where he is completing a first term. He’d like to keep his council job for at least another four years.
Two Republican challengers hope they can take his place. Glen Sayes of Mukilteo
is a professional photographer who recently closed his Everett studio. Jason Mills of Everett is a buyer for an Everett-based electronics company.
All three agree that jobs are the No. 1 issue in the campaign in this year’s election.
“We can’t attract Boeing and other employers here i
f we don’t have good waterlines and roads and other infrastructure,” Sullivan said.
With that, he launched into a discussion about a trust fund that would enable Snohomish County to extend low-interest loans to other local governments for public works projects. He convinced his colleagues to create the fund, but he’s still looking for money to get it going.
Sayes said he wants the County Council to “put together a strategic plan and actively go after new business.” He would draw from his background as a small-business owner and his experience selling software systems to manufacturing companies.
Mills believes he could help construction businesses by getting rid of unnecessary fees. He’d like to see the county try harder to lure biotech companies. Keeping taxes low and providing good infrastructure are other priorities for him.
The county council job pays just a smidge under $103,000. The open seat is for District 2, which includes the Everett and Mukilteo areas. The primary election is Aug. 16. The two candidates with the top votes advance to the Nov. 8 general election.
Sullivan grew up in Mukilteo and graduated from Mariner High School. He attended the University of Washington on a wrestling scholarship but said he stopped in his third year when the school dropped the wrestling program. He also coached wrestling and took classes at Central Washington University.
He managed several local restaurants and owned Riley’s in downtown Mukilteo, now a pizza parlor operated by Diamond Knot Brewery. He also worked for former U.S. Rep. Al Swift, D-Wash., as well as all three county executives.
He won a spot on Mukilteo City Council in his 20s and was elected mayor a few years later. He represented the 21st Legislative District from 2001 to 2007, when he won election to the County Council with more than two-thirds of the vote against a Republican opponent.
Since, Sullivan said he’s proud of his work on economic development, infrastructure and historical preservation. He also highlights his cooperation with fellow Democratic County Councilman Dave Somers to try to balance farming opportunities and fish habitat. His difficult votes included supporting the transfer of control of the county jail to the sheriff from the county executive, which took effect in 2009.
Sullivan’s eclectic resume has put him in touch with so many people in the county that at times he seems to be acquainted with almost everybody who shows up at public meetings. It’s a phenomenon one colleague jokingly calls “the two degrees of Brian Sullivan” but that has, on occasion, made others roll their eyes.
Sullivan hasn’t backed down from publicly confronting County Executive Aaron Reardon, who also is a Democrat and Sullivan’s former boss. He said he’s tried to do it “cordially and diplomatically.”
Sayes, a Meadowdale High alumnus, has lived in Mukilteo for the past 17 years.
He ran unsuccessfully last year for the seat held by state Sen. Paull Shin, D-Edmonds, but didn’t make it past the primary. Earlier this year he shut down his business, Lumina Photography, on Everett’s Casino Road, but still works as a professional photographer. He said people he knows encouraged him to challenge Sullivan.
“I thought I was going to go into semi-retirement, but that’s changed,” he said.
Sayes calls himself “the candidate with high-tech, business and entrepreneurial experience needed at the council level.”
In an email, he said Snohomish County “can no longer remain the county with the highest percent of unemployment in Washington!”
The statewide rate is 8.8 percent. According to the state Employment Security Department, Snohomish County’s unemployment rate was 9.2 percent for May, the most recent month available. For comparison, that same month Pierce County had 9.8 percent unemployment, and Skagit County had 10 percent.
“Too long we have had a council that sits back and hopes that business will come to Snohomish County,” Sayes said.
Mills hasn’t run for public office before but has always been interested in politics. He said he’s a Republican who has “even voted for a Democrat or two.”
The Snohomish High grad said he started going through technical training at Edmonds Community College while in high school.
He said the County Council could benefit from skills he’s learned as an electronics buyer for Qualitel, an Everett-based electronics manufacturer. If elected, he’d like to develop a system for employees to tell him what to fix, since “change usually comes from the bottom up, not from the top down.”
He realizes that the political landscape in Sullivan’s council district strongly favors Democrats.
“If I just get my message out, I don’t think it’ll be that bad,” he said.
Of Sayes, Mills said, “He believes pretty much the same things that I believe.”
Allowing commercial flights at Paine Field is a huge issue for the district.
Sullivan strongly opposes them. Sayes does too, though he said he can understand the appeal of commercial flights for businesses. Mills called it “a hard issue” to balance the advantages for businesses with the potential for more noisy jets flying overhead, which could lower home values.
State Public Disclosure Commission records as of last week showed Sullivan reporting more than $35,000 in campaign contributions and Sayes $150. Mills reported no campaign money.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
Brian Sullivan (incumbent)
Age: 53
Occupation: Snohomish County councilman; former representative for the state’s 21st Legislative District; Mukilteo mayor and city councilman; restaurant owner; coordinator for Snohomish County Tomorrow.
Residence: Mukilteo
Party: Democratic
Website: www.electbriansullivan.com
Education: Attended University of Washington on wrestling scholarship; some classes at Central Washington University.
In his words: “I represent a district but at the end of the day, it’s one county.”
Priorities: Jobs, infrastructure and historic preservation.
Glen Sayes
Age: 61
Occupation: Photographer, former owner of Lumina Photography on Casino Road.
Residence: Mukilteo
Party: Republican
Website: bit.ly/pRrkdb
Education: Attended University of Illinois.
In his words: Sullivan “seems to be a nice guy, but it’s time for there to be a little more accountability for that position.”
Priorities: “Jobs, jobs, jobs.”
Jason Mills
Age: 42
Occupation: Buyer for Qualitel, an Everett-based electronics company.
Residence: Everett
Party: Republican
Website: None
Education: Attended Sno-Isle Skills Center at Edmonds Community College.
In his words: “I work with people every day. I’m not afraid to solve problems.”
Priorities: Making sure Snohomish County is business-friendly; eliminating waste in government; getting rid of “red tape,” including some county fees associated with construction.
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