Who can best serve the city as mayor for the next four years? We must re-elect Ray Stephanson to continue serving Everett. He has proven his ability to lead, build consensus and resolve differences. He actively seeks participation from residents.
The difficult part of being a leader is not catering to special interest groups and keeping the best interests of Everett’s residents in sight. A good leader cannot please everyone, nor should everyone expect to be pleased by all decisions.
It is easy and safe for a councilman to vote no on an item when everyone else is voting yes. However, it serves no purpose. I have watched this happen for more than 25 years. We cannot support someone who says no to everything that comes along.
We would not have the positive changes that are taking place if it wasn’t for the hard work, dedication, integrity and leadership of Stephanson. He just balanced a $350 million budget for next year. We are seeing positive changes downtown, plans for riverfront development after more than 20 years of work set in place by previous leaders of the Lowell neighborhood.
People talk about bringing in living wage jobs. The mayor does not have control over what businesses do or don’t do. What the mayor can provide is a good business climate. We hope for a four-year college for Everett. We hope for a lot of things that will improve our city and Ray is the man to make it happen.
I ask everyone to look at the big picture for our city and vote for Ray Stephanson to serve for the next four years, as Everett is on the cusp of something big. Everett will only reach its potential if we have an experienced and effective leader, and that man is Mayor Stephanson.
Sharon L. Nelson
Everett
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