EVERETT — City Councilwoman Mary Fosse likes to make things better than she found them to give something to hand off.
Fosse, who is also a state Representative, formalized last week that she will not run for re-election. She plans to fulfill her term to December, and has endorsed her preferred successor.
That is Sam Hem, a business agent for the local sheet metal workers union, who looks to face Mason Rutledge and anyone else who enters the race for Council
District 1. Candidate filing week at the county elections office runs to May 9.
For her constituents, “the best way to serve them now is to pass the torch,” Fosse said.
About 10 years ago, Fosse help reconstruct the Delta Neighborhood Association. In 2021, her community nudged her to run for council, beating longtime incumbent Paul Roberts under the backdrop of the introduction of localized district elections.
A year later, she had a successful run for state Representative in 2022 when a shakeup occurred which left both seats in the 38th vacant. State Rep. Julio Cortes won the other seat.
She has paperwork with the state to fundraise toward a 2026 re-election campaign.
Working as a state representative occupies more of her time.
“I’ve been very successful at the state legislature working on policies, getting good representation and working with colleagues there and getting bipartisan approaches,” Fosse said. “It’s where my skillset lies right now.”
