By The Herald Editorial Board
Edmonds voters, in addition to considering a request to approve a $14.5 million increase to city property taxes, are voting in three city council contests.
Position 1
Incumbent Chris Eck, who won election to the seat in 2023 following a vacancy, now seeks a full four-year term and is challenged by Glenda Krull.
Krull, a managing real estate broker, has lived in Edmonds for 25 years and has served as chair and member of the Edmonds Chamber board, the board of the Snohomish County Camano Association of Realtors and on the Edmonds Center for the Arts.
Krull said her leadership on the chamber has given her a front-row seat to the city’s financial struggles as has her long history of monitoring council meetings. With mistrust of the city government growing, she said, changes are needed to how the city is managed to restore stability and a business-friendly environment.
Eck, who until recently was vice president of programs for the Volunteers of America, Western Washington, points to decades of leadership experience there and with Cocoon House and other organizations. She has served on the Snohomish County planning commission, chair of the Lynnwood planning commission, the city’s tree board, United Way board member and with the Human Services Executives Council and as a volunteer with Edmonds schools.
Eck said she sought election to the seat, following an appointment to fill a vacancy, to address the city’s financial concerns, work that started quickly for her when she joined the council. While the council’s work isn’t complete, the city did take significant action last year, cutting $8 million from the budget, pursuing a move to join the regional fire authority and now going to voters to approve a $14.5 million levy lid lift in the coming election. The city has a plan if that measure does not pass, but Eck said deeper cuts will be necessary and important infrastructure work will have to be delayed even longer.
Krull said she agrees that difficult decisions are necessary, but she believes the city is using outdated budget practices and wants to see those decisions informed by more modern systems that link the budget to measurable outcomes. An as example, she said, the city tends to hire staff as positions come available, without evaluating whether that position is necessary. Additionally, she said she’s concerned that the city’s businesses will lose confidence if the city turns to additional sales and or business taxes to increase revenue. Krull said she agrees in principal with seeking additional property tax funds from voters, but would have preferred a lesser amount.
Eck countered that the city finance department is implementing a new budgeting system and is informing decisions through key performance indicators to determine staffing needs.
Regarding housing supply and affordability, Krull, drawing on her realty experience, pointed to discussions she had with state lawmakers as they consider specific legislation, and wonders if Edmonds officials are correctly interpreting what those laws call for. Krull said she has concerns for increasing the supply of housing too quickly in the city before its infrastructure is ready, noting difficulties in getting the city’s wastewater treatment plant operating as intended.
Eck, who said she’s been following housing concerns for years as part of her nonprofit work, said she believes that the city’s work to expand housing supply and increase density can be accomplished at the same time as it addresses infrastructure needs and protection of sensitive areas. To avoid sprawl, she said, good planning and funding are necessary. An example: the city hasn’t looked to place all its new housing along Highway 99, creating canyons of tall buildings. There’s opportunity to make adjustments along the way, she said, but the city’s overall planning for housing and infrastructure are in place and working.
Krull’s real estate background would provide a useful perspective for the council, and her commitment to nonpartisan representation, community involvement and transparency are laudable.
Eck, however, has in the last two years, proved her utility to the council and city, drawing on her professional work in budgeting, housing concerns and community outreach and her care in representing all neighborhoods of the city.
Eck should be elected to a full term on the council.
Position 2
Incumbent Will Chen is essentially running unopposed. While Jessica Bachman’s name will appear on the ballot, Bachman announced in August that she had withdrawn from the race. Because the notice came after an elections deadline, however, her name remains on the ballot.
Chen first won election to to the council in 2021. Chen, a CPA, owns an accounting firm in Edmonds. He has a master’s degree in accounting and business administration. He has served on the city’s Citizens Housing Commission, Edmonds Chamber, Rotary, and on the accounting advisory committee for Edmonds College.
Regarding the city’s financial concerns, Chen said he saw the city’s finances heading in the wrong direction when he first joined the council and called for the council and administration to work together more closely. Chen believes the administration of Mayor Mike Rosen recognizes the challenges before the city and is working with the council to make the necessary decisions. Chen supported the move to join the fire authority and its past budget cuts. As to the levy lid lift, which Chen voted against placing before the voters, that will be up to the voters, but the city is prepared to address work ahead if the measure fails and perhaps return to voters with a reduced funding request.
Chen, who served on the city’s housing committee before his election to the council, said the city has done good work to adapt and prepare for the changes to zoning and regulations adopted by state lawmakers in the last two years. Using a “hub and center” plan, he said, the city has identified areas that are best suited to increased density without sacrificing the city’s character or quality of life.
Regarding public safety, Chen said the city has looked to streamline the police department’s leadership positions to fit the department’s size, again without harming the service and safety it is responsible for.
Chen has shown himself to be a council member seeking practical solutions. Following the changes made to get businesses through the pandemic, Chen sought a compromise to ramp down the growth in “streeteries,” the sidewalk-adjacent restaurant seating in parking spaces. While necessary during the pandemic, there were impacts for non-restaurant businesses, so Chen proposed a fee structure that still provided the option but preserved access to parking.
Chen also was a strong voice for the city’s parks and other facilities when potential sales were suggested. Yet, he said, there was value in exploring that option, especially because it resulted in a clear voice from city residents to protect those public spaces.
Chen has served the council and city well and deserves a second term.
Position 3
Prior to the Aug. 4 primary election, the editorial board endorsed Alex Newman over Erika Barnett.
Ballots coming
Voters should expect their ballots and local voters guide in the mail later this week.
An online voter’s guide is available at tinyurl.com/SnoCoVotersGuide2025.
A full list of The Herald Editorial Board’s endorsements will be published and be available online on Oct. 25.
More information on the Nov. 4 election, registering to vote, ballot drop box locations and more is available at tinyurl.com/SnoCoElex.
The League of Women Voters of Snohomish County has produced candidate forms for many city council, mayor and school district races, available at tinyurl.com/LWVSC-Forums25.
Correction: The above editorial was corrected after initial publication to correct the date of Christine Eck’s start of work on the council and her recent departure from Volunteers of America.
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