By The Herald Editorial Board
Recommendations for two city council races in Edmonds and Mountlake Terrace conclude the editorial board’s endorsements for the Aug. 5 primary election. A summary of the board’s endorsements for the primary will be published Saturday in The Weekend Herald and will be available online Friday at HeraldNet.com/opinion.
Edmonds City Council, Pos. 3
The decision by current city council member Neil Tibbot not to seek reelection opened the race to three first-time candidates: Alex Newman, Joseph Ademofe and Erika Barnett. The top two candidates from the primary will move on to the Nov. 4 general election, joining two other city council races and a request to Edmonds voters to approve a $14.5 million property tax levy lid lift.
For more information and policy positions among the three, see The Herald’s July 13 candidate profile.
The board interviewed the candidates jointly in June.
Barnett, 52, who with her husband owns Salish Sea Brewing Co.’s two Edmonds locations, is a former Microsoft business executive. Barnett cited a decade of past involvement in the community, including as board chairman of the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce, the Edmonds School District foundation and PTAs and other nonprofit groups. She earned a bachelor’s degree in communications from Western Washington University.
With the city facing serious financial challenges, evidenced by the levy request to voters and an earlier decision to annex into the South County Fire District, Barnett noted her background in business planning and operation of a small business that weathered the covid pandemic. Barnett said she understands what families care about, including the city’s parks, safe neighborhoods, vibrant businesses and thoughtful planning.
Barnett also said she’d seek greater transparency and suggests there’s an opportunity to provide that and save money by using artificial intelligence for some administrative tasks within the planning and police departments.
Ademofe, 40, a lead public safety officer at the University of Washington, was born and raised in Nigeria and emigrated from Greece to the U.S. in 2008, advancing academically to earn a GED, then degrees at Shoreline Community College, a bachelor’s in political science at The Evergreen State College, then a masters in international studies at UW in 2024. He has lived in Edmonds since 2014.
Ademofe’s community involvement includes his work on the city’s diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility commission, although cuts have suspended that panel’s work. He also has served as an assistant boys’ soccer coach at an area high school.
Along with concerns for the city’s financial stability, Ademofe also expressed concern for ensuring the services that the city provides, particularly for the city’s loss of control over its fire and EMS services and similar discussion now for the city’s police department. Ademofe said he can bring innovative ideas to the council, particularly in finding new sources of revenue beyond reliance on property tax, and suggesting encouragement of retail business that would provide more sustainable revenue.
Newman, 26, is executive director of the American Red Cross’ Northwest Washington chapter, with past service in response to hurricanes and wildfires and experience in grant-writing and coordination with state and federal agencies. Newman holds a degree in policy analysis and management from Cornell and a master’s in politics and international studies from Cambridge.
Newman said he is running out of concern for the tone of politics at the national level and the funding and other challenges that that is likely to pose for local governments in providing services to residents. He also has concern for the budget crisis that the city faces, especially as it relates to services, in particular the city’s parks, noting that the city’s parks and public spaces are a prime attraction for residents and visitors, opposing earlier proposals to sell any of the city’s parks.
Newman’s nonprofit background, he said, would provide a skill set for the city’s budget work, but would also be valuable regarding public safety, having seen what works and what doesn’t in providing those services day to day and during crises.
Newman also said he intends to prioritize affordability in housing and environmental protection.
Each of the three candidates would be strong addition to the council and the community, drawing on individual skills, experience and perspective.
Newman, however, offers a mix of experience and viewpoints of particular value, including that of a renter, a distinction he shares with Ademofe. More than just support for affordability, for example, Newman noted the city’s opportunities in using the development of the Perrinville neighborhood as a model for growth that provides a mix of zoning and uses that promote housing and density, a walkable neighborhood and small-community retail businesses that contribute to more affordable living. Likewise, there are opportunities along Highway 99 and transit corridors to facilitate housing and retail development that can build city revenue.
His nonprofit experience, as well, will be of use to the council in working with agencies, officials and other local governments. And, his experience and skills in emergency management and disaster response could be of great utility in the event of a crisis or disaster, an eventuality that all local governments should be preparing for.
The editorial board recommends Newman for the council seat.
Mountlake Terrace City Council, Pos. 3
Three candidates are challenging incumbent council member, William Paige Jr., who was appointed to the council in April following the resignation of Rory Paine-Donovan in February, who was appointed in 2022 to fill a vacancy. Challenging Paige are Michelle (Angrick) Delpeon, Othman Riad and Danny Luoma. The top two candidates from the primary will move on to the Nov. 4 general election, joining two other city council races on the ballot.
The election is for the remainder of this year and the following four-year term.
Delpeon, Riad and Luoma applied for and were considered along with Paige for the council vacancy.
Luoma did not respond to the board’s request for an interview.
Delpeon, who works in health care, previously served on the council from 2006 to 2010, but declined to run for reelection after that term to focus attention on her family. Now that her children are older, she said she wants to return to council to serve her community. Then, as now, she said, the city’s focus was on economic development, and she’s pleased with much of what’s been accomplished with transit-oriented and mixed-use development.
Her past work on the council, she said, provided experience with the boards for Community Transit, the county health district, SnoComm 911 and the Puget Sound Regional Council of Governments. She also has completed the Association of Washington Cities certificate of municipal leadership.
A focus for Delpeon, she said, would be public safety and advocating for resources and support for police and fire services. Terrace, as with most cities, is facing a structural budget deficit. And while fire services are provided by South County Fire, Delpeon said she would seek to keep the city’s police department.
In confronting issues of funding services and strengthening revenue, Delpeon noted her time on the council during the Great Recession, which required the city to live within its revenue but avoid the worst of cuts by streamlining processes and planning for development, such as the Town Center plan.
Riad, employed as a tax consultant, has lived in the city for nearly four years, coaches sports, works with the Chamber of Commerce and is a member of the area’s Muslim community and its mosque.
Riad said he wants to serve his community, bringing a new face and fresh perspective to the council. His focus would be on economic development, public safety and environmental issues.
All three issues must be addressed, he said, in addressing the growth that is happening in the city now and in the future, preparing for the addition of housing and the provision of public safety and infrastructure. He said he would look for more opportunities to add green space throughout the city. Riad, who served in law enforcement when he lived in Morocco, said he understands the demands placed on police and would look to provide the pay and appreciation that the job requires.
Riad said his work in taxes also would inform that issue for him in working on the council, seeking to determine first what the city’s needs are before setting a level of taxation.
Paige, who is a retired driver and safety and training manager for UPS, applied for the council vacancy in 2022 before being selected by the council this year. Prior to his appointment, he had served on the city’s diversity, equity and inclusion commission from 2020 until his appointment as well as the city’s ACCESS Project, seeking solutions to youth violence, drawing on past experience as a juvenile probation officer.
His work on the commission, he said, has provided him valuable perspective into the work of the council and the city. Initially, he said his work on the commission was focused on the police department, in the wake of the protests over the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis by a white police officer. Paige met and established a relationship with Chief Pete Caw, he said, discussing issues of transparency and representation in the department.
That work, he said, led to changes to the department’s website to improve accessibility and utility to the community. The department has since hired more women and more minorities, he said, and is more representative of the community, including the department’s first woman sergeant.
Paige also used the commission as a tool for the city to improve its outreach to Mountlake Terrace’s diverse communities, noting how the city is now using ceremonial proclamations for occasions such as Hispanic Heritage Month to reach out to the city’s Hispanic businesses and connect them better to city services and their council representatives. The same has been done, he said, to welcome the city’s Muslim community during its holidays, such as Ramadan.
And the commission’s work in employee training, he said, has paid dividends as the city has moved forward with processes for policy reforms, including the city’s recent adoption of its comprehensive plan update to make those changes with an eye toward equity and fair representation of all communities.
That, he said, has created a better path for the city to communicate with residents.
Paige is an engaging speaker, dedicated to making sure all voices of the community are heard and considered.
Recognizing Delpeon’s past experience with the council and thoughtful consideration of the city’s challenges, and Riad’s careful attitude toward taxpayer funds and concern for public safety, Paige has shown how the goals of diversity, equity and inclusion are best used as an effective approach to improving the representation of city residents and in addressing their needs.
Voters can affirm the council’s selection of Paige as a city council member with their vote.
Election info
Along with the editorial board’s endorsements, voters also are directed to their local voters’ pamphlet, the state’s online voters guide at www.vote.wa.gov and a series of recorded candidate forums available at the website of the Snohomish County League of Women Voters at lwvsnoho.org/candidate_forums.
The county voters’ pamphlet is available online at tinyurl.com/SnoCoVotePrimary25.
Ballots were mailed July 17. They can be returned by mail or placed in one of several county election office drop boxes. Ballots must be postmarked or placed in a drop box before 8 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 5. A list of locations for official drop boxes is available at tinyurl.com/SnoCoElexBox.
Correction: An earlier version of this editorial provided an incorrect last name for Mountlake Terrace City Council member William Paige Jr. in the article’s headline. The headline is now correct.
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