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Politics & Government

Here's Who Is Running for Election in Edmonds and Snohomish County

The list includes mayor, city council and water, fire and school districts, among others.

The Nov. 8 general election is fast approaching. Edmonds residents and those in unincorporated areas should have now received their official voters pamplets and their official ballots. All voting is by mail.

In the next two weeks, Edmonds Patch will be running candidate profiles and other stories related the 2011 election. You can also go to the Elections 2011 tab at the top of the page to view past stories.

First, here is an overview of who is running for what in Edmonds and Snohomish County, the latter spotlighting races that local residents can vote in.

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EDMONDS MAYOR (short and four-year term)

Mike Cooper (incumbent)
Cooper, a former firefighter and Snohomish County councilman, was named Edmonds’ mayor in July 2010 by the Edmonds City Council. He was appointed to finish the remaining term of former Mayor Gary Haakenson through 2011 after Haakenson left to take a position as deputy for Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon.

Cooper, who recently imposed a city hiring freeze through the end of the year, has been endorsed by State Sen. Paull Shinn, Congressman Rick Larson, Sen. Maralyn Chase, Congressman Jay Inslee, Brier Mayor Bob Colinas, state Rep. Cindy Ryu, 21st LD State Rep. Marko Liias, former Edmonds City Councilwoman Deanna Dawson, and several union groups. Also endorsing Cooper are the Snohomish County Democrats and 32nd District Democrats organizations.

As mayor, Cooper says he has reduced energy costs by fighting for and approving a solar project on a city building and working with city staff to reduce energy consumption 20 percent by 2020. “These actions will save the city thousands of dollars a year in energy costs,” Cooper said.

Cooper graduated from Edmonds High School in 1970.

Dave Earling
previously spent 12 years on the Edmonds City Council, including as president, ran unsuccessfully for Snohomish County Executive and recently finished a five-year position on the Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board. He is president of Senior Services of Snohomish County.

Earling has been endorsed by travel guru , , the Edmonds Police Officers Association and three former Edmonds mayors: Gary Haakenson, Barb Fahey and Larry Naughten. He's also picked up nods from nine current mayors in Snohomish County and past and present leaders in Edmonds, including Ron Wamboldt, Jeff Wilson, Mauri Moore and Richard Marin.

“We have a city of 40,000 who have pride in our community, and feel we have a valuable quality of life worth maintaining,” Earling said. “Our citizens deserve a government that makes decisions with an eye toward the common good, which unfortunately is not what's happening now. We need to reset the focus of city government.”

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EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL

Position  4 (four-year short and full term)
The top two vote-getters will face off in November.

Diane Buckshnis (incumbent)
Buckshnis, a former banker and banking regulator, was appointed to fill the seat last January following the death of Councilmember Peggy Pritchard Olson in November 2009. 

Among the plans listed on Buckshnis’ official website are stimulating the economy through fiscal responsibility and marketing tourism, requiring governmental transparency and accountability, and preserving open spaces, wetlands and views on the waterfront. She is adamantly against “tall buildings on the downtown waterfront area.”

Bob Wilcox
Wilcox, who is retired and former member of the Edmonds Community College Foundation, is the former co-owner of Wilcox Construction on Fifth Avenue South in Edmonds. He is a former Catholic church youth minister who also served as president of the school commission at Holy Rosary Church in Edmonds.

“There’s too much discourse on the council,” said Wilcox. “We need a cohesive group to get things accomplished. With Wilcox Construction, we had to get things done by building consensus as a team.”

Wilcox is concerned about preservation, and was Edmonds chapter president for the nonprofit, Memphis, Tenn.-based Ducks Unlimited, which bills itself as the world’s leader in wetlands and waterfowl conservation.

Wilcox says he’s never run for office before simply because he didn’t have time. In addition to running a business, he is a longtime Little League coach who also raised four grown children.

“I’ve always been a political junkie," Wilcox said. "I’ve got a pretty good background in putting a budget together and meeting deadlines, and that’s one of the primary reasons I thought I had something to offer—a lot of experience in the business world.”

Position  5 (four-year term)

D.J. Wilson (incumbent)
Wilson, a former instructor at Edmonds Community College who now runs an Edmonds public affairs business focused on health care and environmental policy, has been on the council since 2007. He was council president in 2009. Wilson is endorsed by Mayor Cooper, Congressman Jay Inslee and Rep. Marko Liias, as well as the mayors of  Mountlake Terrace, Lake Forest Park and Bothell.
 
“Some folks think my politics are hard to place, but I’m really just trying to represent the diversity found in the people of Edmonds,” he said.
 
Among what he calls his proudest achievements was the creation of a cold weather shelter ordinance, called a model by homeless community advocates. 

Wilson is married with two children and has lived in Edmonds since 1999. His wife, Karianna Wilson, is running for a Hospital Commission position.

Joan Bloom
Bloom, a community activist since 2004, has lived in Edmonds since 1985 with her husband, Gary. She runs the website Edmonds Forum and is endorsed by former Edmonds Councilman Dave Orvis.

“I want to create an atmosphere of partnership with the citizens, and at the same time, I understand that it’s the city government’s job to make sure things get done,” said Bloom. “So there will be space for those who want to be more involved, while those too busy with other aspects of their lives will continue to have their interests represented.”

Bloom has a bachelor’s degree from Penn State University and a master’s from the University of California, Berkeley, and is the owner of Aging Well, an Edmonds business created in 2006.

Her campaign slogan is “Vote for Joan of ARC—Accountability, Responsibility and Civility.”

Position 6
This race features two new candidates. Incumbent Steve Bernheim did not file for re-election.

Frank Yamamoto
Yamamoto has more than 20 years of experience as a business leader, executive, and manager in the private sector. He has owned in Edmonds for six years.

Yamamoto, who chairs the Citizens Economic Development Commission and previously served as president of the Downtown Edmonds Merchant Association, is a board member of the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce and member of Edmonds Community College’s advisory board. Yamamoto also organizes local running events for the Waterfront Festival, Fourth of July parade and other events.

Yamamoto says he will ensure that the City Council puts the needs of residents first by prioritizing the delivery of basic services in budget decisions and seeking new opportunities such as promoting tourism as a means of generating new revenue.

Alvin Rutledge
Rutldge, another familiar face at council meetings, is a longtime candidate for office, including Edmonds City Council. Rutledge had originally intended to run for the Hospital District 2 Board, but withdrew his name before the deadline to force a primary for seat six of the city council.

He was the Kiwanis Club of Edmonds’ Seniors Man of the Year in 2002 and is a Save Our Log Cabin Committee member.

Position  7

Lora Petso (incumbent)
Petso, an attorney and Edmonds resident for 25 years, was appointed to the Edmonds City Council to fill the seat left vacant by the resignation of Councilmember Dave Orvis in 2010. She was also elected a councilmember and served from 2000 to 2003. She has been an official of the Olympic View Water District Commission since 1995.

She presently serves as Council President Pro Temp, Chair of the Finance Committee, and council representative to the Edmonds Center for the Arts and the Regional Fire Authority.

“I have always worked to preserve our beautiful city, including voting to acquire Marina Beach Park, creating a park trust fund for the flower program and Yost Pool, and retaining our building height limits,” said Petso. “Even during the time I was not on council, I devoted hundreds of hours to the effort to acquire and develop Hickman Park.”

Petso, co-owner of Albion Actuarial Consulting since 1990, is married to Colin Southcote-Want. They have three grown children and one grandson.

Darlene Stern
, an Edmonds Chamber of Commerce board member and secretary of the Edmonds Police Foundation, has been in escrow management for more than 30 years.

Stern is the wife of the late David Stern, who was the Edmonds police chief and the Chamber of Commerce president. He died unexpectedly four years ago from a brain aneurysm.

Stern's own resume includes a 32-year management career in the escrow field. She  is also currently a director of the Greater Edmonds Chamber of Commerce and secretary of the Edmonds Police Foundation.

Stern said she believes she can help the City Council negotiate difficult budget issues.

“With major budget and infrastructure problems facing Edmonds, we need councilmembers who will put aside the trivial issues and focus on solving the big ones,” Stern said. “That is precisely what I intend to do.”

EDMONDS PORT COMMISSION
Two of the five positions are up for election.

Port Commission District 2
Marianne Zagorski did not file for re-election.
David Preston

Port Commissioner At Large Position 4
Jim Orvis, incumbent

WOODWAY TOWN COUNCIL
There are five council seats. Two positions up for re-election are unopposed.

Position 4
Mike  Quinn

Position 5
Elizabeth Mitchell

OLYMPIC VIEW WATER DISTRICT
Olympic View operates in portions of Edmonds, Woodway and unincorporated Snohomish County.

Commissioner, Position 3
Pat Meeker is not seeking re-election. 

Barb Kathol
Mike Harrigan

EDMONDS SCHOOL DISTRICT 15

Director District 1
Incumbent Susan Paine did not file for re-election.
Kory DeMun, running unopposed

Director District  3
Gary Noble, incumbent
Boe Lindgren

Director District 5
Incumbent Pat Shields did not file for re-election. There are four new candidates.

Mark Dillan
Diana White

                                                                                                             SNOHOMISH COUNTY EXECUTIVE

Aaron Reardon (incumbent)
Democrat Reardon, who lives in Everett, is serving his second term after first being elected in 2003. Prior to serving as Snohomish County Executive, he served as a Washington State Senator and a member of the state House of Representatives. Reardon’s Deputy County Executive is former Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson.
                                
Mike Hope
Hope, who grew up in Cleveland, was in the Marine Corps Reserve and an officer and detective for the Seattle Police Department. He’s also been a small-business owner and a high school coach. Hope, a Republican, is currently a state representative serving the 44th District. He lives in Lake Stevens.
 
SNOHOMISH COUNTY COUNCIL DISTRICT 3
Serving Edmonds, Woodway and Lynnwood.
 
Kathy Vaughn
Vaughn, a Republican, is a Snohomish County Public Utility District commissioner. She owns a mortgage company, Goldmark Financial.
 
Stephanie Wright
Wright, a Democrat, was formerly a Lynnwood city councilwoman and public school librarian. Wright was appointed to her current position when Mike Cooper was named mayor of Edmonds last year.
 
SNOHOMISH COUNTY FIRE DISTRICT 1

Commissioner Position 2
Richard Schrock

Commissioner Position 3
David Chan

SNOHOMISH COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT 2
Five commissioners serve Edmonds, Woodway, Brier, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace.

Commissioner Position 1
Deana Knutsen
Kerry Ayers

Commissioner Position 3
Bob Knowles
Eric S. Radcliffe

Commissioner Position 4
Karianna Wilson
David S. Peterson

COUNTY ASSESSOR
Cindy Portman (incumbent)
Chris Vallo
 
SNOHOMISH SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE, POSITION 5
Richard T. Okrent. Okrent was appointed by Gov. Chris Gregorie in January after the retirement of Judge Gerald L. Wright.

There are other nonpartisan Snohomish County government positions where the incumbents have no competition: They include auditor Carolyn Weikel, clerk Sonya Kraski, Sheriff John Lovick, and treasurer Kirke Sievers.
 
For more information on Snohomish County elections, go to the Snohomish County website.                                                               

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