LYNNWOOD — Residents either think the Lynnwood City Council is doing a great job or they are too intimidated to run against one of the three experienced City Council members.
Council members Don Gough, Loren Simmonds and Jim Smith have all filed to run again and are uncontested for the Nov. 4 general election.
However, incumbent Ted Hikel, a customer service representative for Nordstrom, is being challenged by Lynnwood planning commissioner Patrick Decker, a purchaser for building projects.
Hikel, 65, who is also the chair of the public safety work group, said, “when I ran four years ago, I promised to work to improve our police and fire departments and to stabilize Medic 7. We have added a second K-9 officer to the police staff, new firefighters and captains to the fire department and brought Medic 7 in house.”
Hikel said he still has a commitment to protecting single family homes and he said there still needs to be more common sense decisions made when it comes to the future development of Lynnwood.
“We can’t afford to lose more homes to developers who only want to build more apartments,” he said. Hikel said he is a supporter of the 60-40 goal the Council set that encourages the retention of single family homes.
Keeping city taxes low is another priority for Hikel. He added that he said he wouldn’t travel outside the state on taxpayer expense and he still hasn’t done that.
Hikel, 65, has lived in Lynnwood for 35 years and has been married to his wife Beverly for 33 years. The couple have two grown sons.
Decker, who is also a member of the city’s City Center Oversight Committee, said he is running because he has noticed the way the Council and mayor deal with each other and said he’d like to help make that process more congenial.
“I’d like to see a more professional atmosphere between the mayor and council – more of a cooperative spirit,” Decker said. I currently have a professional, cordial relationship with the Council and mayor and I would build on that.”
How he would make a difference with the “bad air” on the council, he said, “I think leading by example can be very effective.”
He also said he would like to improve traffic conditions, fund more youth programs and support public safety personnel.
Decker, 35, has been a resident of Lynnwood for almost 20 years. Also, Decker, is the scout master for Lynnwood Troop 65.
He and his wife Silylut (Sara) Decker have three sons.
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