I was at the candidate forum recently at the Stanwood Middle School and have looked closely at the candidates’ records. It was a clear choice between the public interest as represented in candidates Conrad Ryer for Stanwood City Council and Suzanne Smith for County Council and special interests.
Ryer brought a clear vision of working to attract vibrant small-scale businesses to Stanwood, fiscal responsibility and oversight of our tax base and a balanced view to growth in the area. His opponent is still enamored with attracting a big box retailer that the city of Stanwood’s own economic analysis showed would significantly diminish the income of our established businesses and suppress wages in the area. We need smart growth, not growth at any cost.
Smith also clearly represents the public interest. She’s a small-scale farmer in the area and was on the Marysville City Council. Her opponent, when asked at the candidate forum what he would do to ensure that builders would pay their share of impact fees so the rest of us taxpayers wouldn’t have to subsidize development, made clear his intent to continue to support those subsidies. There are just two things that happen to a community when impact fees are not fully paid – the rest of us pony up the difference to keep the infrastructure (roads, schools, services) in place, or the infrastructure deteriorates. Smith will work to ensure that we are all fairly treated.
I heartily endorse Smith and Ryer to be our representatives on the on the County and City councils.
Dan Lewinski
Stanwood
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