Town Center key, say Terrace winners

The incumbents in all three Mountlake Terrace City Council races on Tuesday’s general election ballot are apparently heading for re-election.

And they definitely see the results as a referendum on the city’s Town Center project and support for the way they’ve handled it so far.

In Pos. 6, Laura Sonmore was ahead of challenger Leonard French by a 60-40 margin.

In Pos. 5, Michelle Robles was ahead of newcomer Sharon Maynard by a bit more, 64-36 percent.

In Pos. 7, voters were supporting John Zambrano for another term by 58-42 percent over William Knorr.

“People do want to see growth and revitalization and they want us to be careful about it,” Robles said. “I live four blocks from Town Center, I’m not going to vote to put some monstrosity there.”

Sonmore said she’s ecstatic with the results.

“Mountlake Terrace made a statement,” she said. “Get ready because we’re going to Town Center the way Mountlake Terrace wants it.”

Sonmore said the Town Center was the main issue for her opponent, French, but it wasn’t the only one for her or the rest of the council. “We’re not here for just one issue,” she said. “We listen to everybody.

Calling himself perhaps the most controversial figure on the council, Zambrano said the results put him “at ease.”

“I’m humbled that the people are satisfied with my performance,” Zambrano said. “At 60 percent, that’s a fair assumption that Mountlake Terrace wants us to get busy and join the 21st century.”

Zambrano said the next step for Town Center will be to solicit and create partnerships with those businesses “who want to invest in our community.”

During the campaign, French said the council hadn’t been listening to the people.

“I’ve been an advocate for my neighbors for going on 11 years. I want a council that reflects the community they serve,” said French, a real estate consultant who has been a frequent critic of the city’s Town Center Plan since 2006. French said the public meetings the city organized to gather input about Town Center were “orchestrated” to favor a predetermined path.

Knorr said he ran because he was fed up with what he called the city’s lack of responsiveness to its citizens.

It was a refrain he shared with French and the third challenger, Maynard, who founded both Mountlake Terrace Citizen Voices to offer a meeting ground for communication and Bears in the Terrace to thank local businesses.

Maynard was sharply critical of the Town Center Plan approved by the council in February. She said there’s nothing wrong with revitalizing downtown, as long as it reflects “what the citizens want.”