Until recently, Lake Stevens was stuck in a bit of an identity crisis. Would it remain a small bedroom community along the northeastern shore of the county’s largest lake, or would it expand all the way around the lake, becoming the county’s fourth-largest city and a major urban service provider.
The latter path was chosen, wisely, and the city is in the midst of an annexation boom. Since 2005, the city’s population has doubled to 14,540. Incorporating all of its urban growth area into a long-held vision of “one community around the lake” will give the city greater control over how it develops. It also will require a greater level of sophistication in planning and service delivery.
Lake Stevens voters are fortunate that the field of candidates for this year’s city elections offers high-caliber choices. It’s a group with vision, intelligence and a burning desire to protect what has always made the city special — the lake — while planning for a community that has good-paying jobs, is easier to get around and provides the efficient urban services citizens expect.
MAYOR
We endorse the incumbent, Vern Little, who was appointed to the position last year. Little, who was the City Council president, was tapped by the council to replace Lynn Walty, who said the time had come for someone else to lead the city.
Little has done so with energy and competence. One of his first major moves was one of his best, promoting Finance Director Jan Berg to city administrator, a critical position that had been vacant for nearly three years. With Berg overseeing day-to-day operations, the city is running smoothly as it moves ahead with its aggressive annexation plans.
Little, meanwhile, represents the city’s interests as a steering committee vice-chair of Snohomish County Tomorrow, the group of city and county leaders that creates the framework for growth plans throughout the county, and on the Puget Sound Regional Council, which oversees regional growth and transportation planning and decides where millions of federal dollars go. He has played an assertive role behind the scenes, working with county planners toward more consistent design standards in unincorporated areas that someday will be part of Lake Stevens.
Little wants to keep the city on an aggressive annexation path so it can better control its own destiny. He recognizes that the city must become more than a bedroom community, and that drawing good-paying jobs to the city is part of the solution to traffic congestion as well as drawing federal dollars for infrastructure improvements.
As a senior manager at Boeing, Little has years of experience managing large groups and big budgets. He’s also a longtime community volunteer, having served for years in leadership positions with the Lake Stevens Junior Athletic Association.
His challenger is Jeff Craig, a Gulf War veteran who has lived in the city for eight years and says poor growth planning in the past put the city on a haphazard path.
Craig isn’t afraid to put forth big ideas. He wants Community Transit to bring a bus rapid transit system to the city, and proposes a dedicated lane for it on the U.S. 2 trestle. He would annex the entire urban growth area as soon as possible, and sees the city becoming the “Mercer Island or Medina of Snohomish County.”
He is highly critical of the city’s history of growth planning, but says it has improved markedly in the last couple of years. He’s right about that, which is a reason to retain Little. Craig is a bright, passionate candidate to has much to offer. If he doesn’t win, we hope he’ll bring his vision to the table in other ways, gaining more practical government experience along the way.
CITY COUNCIL
Position 3:
That’s not to say that his opponent, Kerry Watkins, doesn’t have plenty to offer. He does. A National Guard officer, Iraq War veteran and reserve police officer in Everett, Watkins is an impressive and passionate candidate. He has worked for Boeing for 20 years, and is pursuing a master’s degree in business. He would be an assertive advocate for public safety and recreational opportunities for young people. Against a less seasoned opponent, we’d likely endorse Watkins.
Position 4: We endorse the incumbent, Karen Alessi, who faces a strong, credible challenge from Mark Somers. Alessi, who was a driving force behind the downtown development plan, has lived in Lake Stevens most of her life. Her passion for her hometown has long been evident — she says that in her youth she would sit at the end of a dock and draw plans for a revitalized downtown. She has a long record as an active business and community leader, helping to recruit a Hewlett Package division to town in the early 1980s, helping to incorporate the annual Aquafest in 1983, working to build the current library in 1984 and co-chairing the Chamber’s Economic Development Committee.
Somers, who runs the city of Everett’s cable television channel, is a bright and thoughtful challenger who would serve ably. He has a firm grasp of the complex issues surrounding growth, and like the other candidates, is passionate about protecting the lake’s health. We just think that Alessi’s experience and business background make her too valuable a member to lose.
Position 5: Suzanne Quigley is our choice over former Mayor Lynn Walty. Quigley was appointed to the council in January after Walty resigned as mayor and was replaced by council President Vern Little. Now Walty is seeking to return to the council, where he served two terms before being elected mayor.
Quigley is an extremely impressive council member, combining intelligence (she holds a Ph.D in hearing science) with energy (she chaired the successful bond-issue campaign that yielded the new Cavelero Mid-High School, and spearheaded the signature-gathering effort that resulted in the Frontier Village annexation). We think she brings the kind of sophisticated, analytical approach to issues this growing city needs to succeed.
Walty has given incalculably to the city over the years, and his candidacy shows that his commitment to it remains strong. Citizens should be grateful for his service. As the city moves forward, we think Quigley offers the best skill set in this race. She also represents one of the newly incorporated areas, whose residents deserve to have a direct voice on the council.
Position 6: In a very close call, we endorse Kathy Holder to keep the seat to which she was appointed in February. Holder worked to get her neighborhood added to the city, then served on the city’s parks board before filling the council seat previously held by Arnie Clark, who resigned to take an engineering job with the city. Holder, who spent four years as an Army officer, has gotten up to speed on the issues quickly, and brings a grassroots approach to them.
Her opponent is Michael Friend, who would no doubt serve well if elected. He’s lived in the city for 15 years, and as an officer in Aquafest has worked closely with businesses and other community volunteers. He’s as passionate as any candidate about smart growth and protecting the lake. Citizens can’t go wrong with either candidate in this race, but we think Holder has earned a full term.
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