Make executive job appointed

Poor Dave Somers. He won with endorsements from two groups who regard each other as deadly foes: The environmentalists and the Master Builders. What’s Dave going to do when their interests butt heads? If he sides with the environmentalists against some despoliation by the Master Builders, the Master Builders will foam at the mouth and bite the carpet — “where’s our return on our investment?” — meaning their campaign contributions. If he sides with the Master Builders, maybe by filling in the wetlands, the environmentalists will call him out as a double dealer if not an outright traitor and want his head on a pike.

It’s said that if a man tries to serve two different masters at once, he’ll serve neither master well.

Dave Somers, by trying to avoid politics, is setting himself up for failure because the job of county executive is all politics, all the time. The only way to get politics out of the county executive’s job is to eliminate the county executive job and go with a county manager who is answerable to only the Snohmish County Council.

This may not be such a bad idea. What do you folks think?

Tom LaBelle

Clearview

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