The race for position 3 on Snohomish County Fire District 1’s board of commissioners just got smaller.
Heatherwood West resident Lisa Hopp, who has coordinated efforts to get her neighborhood annexed into Mill Creek, withdrew from the race Wednesday, Aug. 3, citing family concerns and the annexation effort as greater priorities. The Mill Creek City Council is likely to make a decision on the annexation early this fall.
“It wasn’t the right time or the right year,” Hopp said. “Right now, running for office wasn’t my top priority.”
Hopp said she filed to run for the position largely because of the role Fire District 1’s board played in contesting the boundaries of Mill Creek’s proposed annexation this past spring. Hopp and other residents of the area were upset that not only did District 1’s board oppose the annexation, but did so without placing it on an agenda prior to discussing the issue at a meeting.
“I thought that if the annexation didn’t go through, and we would remain taxpayers of District 1, that the board needed some change, and I felt it was incumbent on me to make that change.”
If Mill Creek annexes Hopp’s neighborhood, fire protection service in the area will switch from District 1 to District 7, which contracts with the city of Mill Creek to provide service within the city limits.
Even with Hopp’s withdrawal, the race to replace Joan Miller of Edmonds on that board will still appear on the Sept. 20 primary ballot. Two Lynnwood men, Christopher Glenn and David Chan, seek the seat, as does John Billen of Everett. The seat is the only one on the board up for election this year.
Fire District 1 serves unincorporated areas around Mill Creek, Lynnwood and Edmonds and the cities of Mountlake Terrace and Brier.
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