City candidates step up

  • Jenny Lynn Zappala<br>Enterprise editor
  • Monday, March 3, 2008 6:49am

Runners, take your places.

Incumbents and challengers will officially kick off their campaigns during filing week, which starts Monday. The match-ups won’t be official until candidates file their paperwork at Everett’s Snohomish County office between July 25 and July 29.

Some candidates are getting an early start by contacting local newspapers or the Public Disclosure Commission, the state agency which keeps track of campaign spending. Candidates are required to check in with the commission within two weeks of going public or collecting campaign contributions.

Here are some of the candidates expected to step forward during filing week in Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and Brier.

Lynnwood

City councilman Don Gough, city councilman Jim Smith and newcomer Bill Vance plan on challenging Mayor Mike McKinnon for the city’s top elected office this fall. Sound familiar?

McKinnon, a self-employed accountant; Gough, a self employed attorney; and Smith, a marketing director at a local aviation corporation, competed for the title of Lynnwood mayor in 2001.

Vance, a cable maintenance manager for Qwest Communications, is a new face to Lynnwood politics. He has served as event chair for the Taste of Edmonds for four years and the Seafair Unlimited Hydroplane Races and Air Show for two years.

Lynnwood Councilman Martin Nelson, Councilwoman Lisa Utter and Councilwoman Ruth Ross told the Enterprise they are running for reelection this fall.

Lawrence Conner, a Harborview nurse, filed a challenge against Councilman Nelson with the Public Disclosure Commission. Conner announced he is withdrawing due to work commitments.

Mark Smith, a retired university teacher, also intends to run for Lynnwood City Council, but did not say who he will challenge.

Mountlake Terrace

Seats currently held by Mayor Jerry Smith, Councilwoman Angela Amundson, Councilwoman Jamie Gravelle and Councilman Doug Whittinger can be contested this year. Gravelle told the Enterprise she is not seeking reelection.

Michelle R. Angrick and Eric Teegarden are competing for Gravelle’s seat. Angrick is the branch office administrator at Edward Jones Investments in Mountlake Terrace. Teegarden is the owner of Eric’s Yard Care and Landscaping and chair of the Mountlake Terrace Community Policing Advisory Board.

Councilman Whittinger, who intends to run, has attracted two challengers to date: Kyoko M. Wright and Gerald Conner. Wright is a real estate agent and member of the Mountlake Terrace Planning Commission. Conner, an optical technician, serves on the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission and Mountlake Terrace Friends of the Library Board.

According to the Public Disclosure Commission, two wild cards have expressed an interest in running for the Mountlake Terrace Council: Cynthia A. Bruce and Michael A. Jones.

Brier

Brier City Councilman Bob Colinas, a Brier native, announced he is running for mayor. Colinas is the park operations superintendent for the city of Lynnwood.

The Brier City Council positions currently occupied by Sasha Doolittle, Carlton Gipson and Bob Colinas can be contested this year. Doolittle, who is moving out of Brier this summer, is not running for reelection.

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