It’s a race for a seat on the council

LYNNWOOD — For the first time in years, candidates for a City Council seat will face each other in the Primary Election.

And this year, that Primary arrives early — On Aug. 21 instead of in September.

Long-time Councilman Jim Smith is seeking re-election to a sixth consecutive term. He won his first race for council in 1987.

To get to the Nov. 6 General Election, Smith will first face challengers Maria Ambalada, a Planning Commission member, and the Rev. Christopher Boyer.

Boyer, 46, is pastor of Good Shepherd Baptist Church, 6915 196th St. SW.

This is his first run for public office.

“I have spent my life in non-profits, doing different kinds of service to the community,” he said. “Public service is important to me. My wife and I have lived many different places. I wanted to get established in the community and see what I can do to help.”

Boyer and his wife, Connie, have three children.

In addition to his work as a pastor, Boyer chairs the Lynnwood Arts Commission, to which he was appointed by the City Council. He’s been endorsed by state Sen. Paull Shin (D-Mukilteo) and State Rep. Brian Sulllivan, (D-Mukilteo).

Ambalada, who declined to disclose her age, is a neighborhood activist who campaigned for then councilman Don Gough when he ran for mayor in 2005. She also galvanized efforts that led to formation of the city’s Neighborhoods, culture &Diversity Commission.

Ambalada said she wants to serve on the council in part so she can have an effect on the way campaigns are financed. To that end, she’s pledged not to accept large individual campaign contributions, preferring to accept whatever the voting public is willing to send her.

She said it’s unfortunate that public office holders often run perpetual fund raising efforts because it distracts them from focusing on public service.

She also said the city’s focus on growth is “good” but that more attention should be paid to the “dreary neighborhoods” that need new sidewalks and better infrastructure.

Smith, 56, is an entrepreneur who has run unsuccessfully for mayor. He won his first seat on the council after defeating Mike McKinnon, who served as mayor before Gough, in 1987.

He said he offers “institutional knowledge” about the city that few can match, adding he plans to propose that whoever faces him in the General Election not use campaign signs, which he said often get stolen and are “such a blight.”

Councilman Ed dos Remedios’ decision not run for the seat he was appointed to in 2005, to fill the remaining two years in Gough’s term, leaves the Pos. 5 seat open for challengers Stephanie Wright and Robin Dode in the General election.

Dode, 44, is a senior vice president at Evergreen Bank, overseeing commercial loans and a member of Rotary Club of Lynnwood along with other business and education-related organizations.

She said her experience with the business and education communities would serve her well as a councilwoman.

She was one of many candidates who in 2005 sought appointment to the seat dos Remedios is vacating.

Wright, 34, is a teacher who lost her 2001 race for Ned Daniels’ seat by 55 votes to Marty Nelson. She’s married to Richard Wright, Planning Commission member.

“I want to be involved with the changes and the growth that Lynnwood is experiencing,” she said. “I really want to help direct the future of Lynnwood.”

In the other contested race, incumbent Ted Hikel faces a challenge for his Pos. 6 seat from Planning Commission chair Patrick Decker, 39.

“I disagree with some of the legislation the city council has been pushing through recently,” Decker said. “That’s nothing new—I disagreed four years ago,” when he lost a his council bid against Hikel.

“I know that the city had almost a million dollars from excess sales tax the last year but they still needed to raise property taxes,” Decker said.

Four years ago, he said, “I heard from people over and over again that property taxes had become extremely burdensome.”

Council President Loren Simmonds will run unopposed.