Eight vie for mayor’s position

EDMONDS — The interviews have been completed and now, Edmonds City Council faces the selection of a new mayor from a group of eight residents who have applied to fill the post.

Council is to make its selection at its July 20 meeting. The mayoral spot opened July 2, when Gary Haakenson stepped down to serve as deputy county executive for Snohomish County. In between Haakenson’s departure and July 20, Council President Steve Bernheim serves as interim mayor.

From the application packets each man submitted, candidates see Edmonds’ financial woes as the most important challenge the city faces.

Todd Clayton has been active with volunteer and charity activities. He hopes, if selected, to spur volunteerism in the city.

Mike Cooper, currently a Snohomish County councilman, served in the state House of Representatives from 1997 to 2005 with a stint on the Edmonds Planning and Parks Board from 1989 to 1994. The son of Edmonds’ first full-time paid fire chief, Cooper’s career path took him to Shoreline where he was a firefighter before his life in elected service. Cooper sees the future financial health of the city as being dependent upon decisions that the mayor and council make today.

Roger Hertrich, a councilman from 1988 through 1991, has served as a board member of the South County Senior Center, the Historical Preservation Commission and a levy committee. With the economy identified as the leading problem facing the city, he would look at cutting costs of operation while supplying a reasonable level of service.

Richard Marin, who served on the council from 2001 to 2008, came to public service through 27 years in the Navy where he served as a commanding officer for two units. He sees insufficient revenue and delayed maintenance work and transportation improvements along with the imbalance between the city’s tax base and increasing costs to deliver service as the main challenges the city is facing.

Michael Pederson, a former Edmonds Architectural Design Board chair, also tapped finances as the city’s prominent problem. He suggested investing in revenue-producing enterprises as a solution.

Dick Van Hollebeke, the leader of last year’s “Save Yost Pool” effort, also served on council from 1996 through 1999 and currently serves as a trustee for Edmonds Community College. As a retired financial services provider, he spots solving the projected budget shortfall as aligning with his skill set. He identifies creating new revenue as a leading goal, should he be selected.

Ron Wambolt, a retired businessman, served on council from 2006 through 2009. He continues to hold seats on the Highway 99 Task Force and the Edmonds Parking Committee. Having professionally supervised managers for more than two decades and working with annual budgets of 20 operating companies for 15 years, he believes his background would provide the most seamless transition to the mayor’s office.

Frank Yamamoto, a Main Street business owner, is the chairman of the Economic Development Commission. The former global distribution business executive led a staff of 300 and identifies the budget as being the city’s central concern. He suggests that continuing to pay for city services cannot be accomplished without improving the bottom line and by taking a hard look at how the bottom line can be boosted.

With the exceptions of Van Hollebeke and Wambolt, all the candidates state that if selected as mayor they plan to run for election when the term expires Dec. 31, 2011.