SNOHOMISH COUNTY — Pretty soon, the county will be in the thick of candidate filing week, which runs from May 5 to 9.
State Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) records reviewed April 17 give an indicative picture of the local races shaping up for Snohomish, Monroe, Everett and Lake Stevens.
There are school board seats, council seats, and three of the cities have mayoral races. Plus, there's a seat up for election on the Port of Everett and the County Council seats held by Sam Low, Jared Mead and Nate Nehring, who all are running.
While the PDC is not a formal filing into the election, the office controls candidate campaign financial reporting required for candidates to accept donations that gives formative indication of an election campaign.
In Snohomish, incumbent Linda Redmon and challenger Aaron Hoffmann have filed for the mayoral race, setting up a contested election.
On the council, incumbent Tom Merrill has paperwork for Position 4, and Karen Guzak has paperwork for Position 7. Newcomer Bill Webster II, a businessman and civic leader, has filed for Lea Anne Burke’s Position 6.
Burke confirmed she is not running again this time. “I did not anticipate running for multiple terms,” she said, and is committed to fulfilling the rest of her term this year. She said she’s open to running again in the future.
The status of Position 5, currently held by David Flynn, remains uncertain as no filings were in as of April 17.
A candidate named Fred Gaitan has filed papers at the state to run a City Council campaign, but hadn’t put down what seat he seeks.
Three seats on the Snohomish School Board will be up for election. None of the incumbents have filed paperwork.
In Monroe, the mayor’s office will see a change in leadership as incumbent Mayor Geoffrey Thomas is stepping away after 12 years. The race pits Patsy Cudaback against Heather Fulcher.
Three incumbent councilmembers — Tami Beaumont, Kevin Hanford, and Kyle Fisher — intend to run for re-election. A notable development is the candidacy of Planning Commission member Brandi Blair for the seat currently held by Kirk Scarboro.
For the school board, parent Heather Young is going against incumbent Molly Barnes.
In Everett, the mayoral race is believed to be a three-way contest with incumbent Cassie Franklin facing challenges from Scott Murphy and Dr. Janice Greene. Franklin and Murphy have raised tremendous amounts of money for the race.
Council Position 1, currently held by Mary Fosse, will see at least two candidates vying for the seat: Brian Hennessy and Mason Rutledge. Incumbent Paula Rhyne is set to defend her Position 2 seat against challenger Ryan Crowther, while incumbent Don Schwab has filed for re-election for Position 3. Alan Rubio has filed for the Position 4 seat, which is currently held by Liz Vogeli. Finally, incumbent Ben Zarlingo is seeking another term for Council Position 5.
For the Everett School Board, incumbent Roman Rewolinski announced he’s defending his seat. Janelle Burke is shooting for the District 2 seat held by Jen Hirman, and city planning commissioner Demi Chatters is seeking Position 3, currently vacant. Chatters is also one of the five finalists for the school board seat for filling the vacancy when Caroline Mason stepped down.
In Lake Stevens, incumbent City Council members Gary Petershagen, Kim Daughtry and Steve Ewing have campaign paperwork set up at the PDC as of April 18. For Council Position 7, held by Marcus Tangeant, city planning commissioner Nathan Packard has established a campaign for the council seat.
This story includes the use of generative AI for the basic storywriting but not fact-gathering.
