County campaigning at the starting line

Snohomish County political hopefuls kicked off their campaigns for state and county elected positions in conjunction with candidate filing week, which started Monday, May 16.

For several years, Sky Valley residents have had an immediate connection with the elected officials representing them at the state level because District 39 legislators Kirk Pearson, Dan Kristiansen and Elizabeth Scott all live in or around Monroe. Similarly, at the county level, former Snohomish County District 5 Councilmember Dave Somers lives between Monroe and Sultan.

But that will change after November's election. Scott, who was planning to run for Congress against District 1 incumbent Suzan DelBene, dropped out of the race for health reasons. Well-known Republican John Koster of Everett faces two challengers for Scott's seat in the 39th ' Darrington Democrat Ronda Metcalf and Shane Driscoll, a Libertarian from Maryville.

Pearson is unopposed in his bid for reelection to the senate. Pearson served in the state house for six terms before being elected to the senate in 2013. Kristiansen, another veteran lawmaker, will face Linda Wright, a Democrat from Marysville, for his reelection bid to the state house.-á

At the county level, Somers has been serving as the Snohomish County executive since his win over former executive John Lovick in 2015. Somers' vacated District 5 seat is occupied by former state representative Hans Dunshee, who was appointed to the position in February.

Dunshee faces challenger Sam Low, a small business owner from Lake Stevens. Low's campaign kickoff event took place Tuesday, May 17, at Harvey Field in Snohomish.

Low, a 1988 graduate of Everett High School, became interested in politics as a teenager, after winning a contest to be mayor for a day in the city of Everett. He was selected as the Snohomish County and Washington State Youth of the Year through the Boys and Girls Clubs of America Youth of the Year contest, a national program that celebrates youth achievement.

Low graduated from a small college in southern California, where he played basketball and worked at a pharmacy. After college, he spent several years as an educator in Orange County, teaching third and fourth grade and coaching high school and junior high basketball. He returned to Washington in 1998 and began working with at-risk teens, became a minister and served as a volunteer with the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.-á -á

He married his wife, Mariah, a forensic scientist with the Washington State Patrol, in 2006. Between the two, they have five kids and a dog, Max. Low was elected to the Lake Stevens City Council in 2013, served on the Snohomish Board of Health in 2014, and as the board president in 2015.-á

Currently, Low is the president of the Lake Stevens City Council, a member of the chamber of commerce and will be confirmed next month as the president of the Lake Stevens Rotary Club.

The campaign kickoff event was attended by former state senator and two-time gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi, Snohomish County Councilmember Ken Klein, Sultan City Councilmember Russell Wiita, Snohomish County Treasurer Kirke Sievers, Jim Donner, 44th District candidate Janice Huxford, state treasurer candidate Michael Waite and numerous other Low supporters.

The event was emceed by Klein, with contributions from Rossi and Koster, who both said a few words to help introduce Low.-á

Koster served on the Snohomish County Council from 2002 through 2014, and prior to that, was the representative for Washington's 39th District from 1995 through 2001. If his bid for election is successful, he'll be returning to familiar territory.

"It was about a year ago, Dan Kristiansen called me and said, "John, Elizabeth Scott's thinking about running for the U.S. House, there's going to be an open seat. Would you consider coming back?' GÇ¥ Koster said. "And in spite of knowing everything I'm getting into, I said I would do that.GÇ¥

He talked about his support of Low, saying it's important to get him elected to add a voice of reason and fiscal responsibility to the county council.

"Government closest to the people is the most important government,GÇ¥ Koster said. "Every great and noble idea of every congressman and every state legislator is usually implemented at the local level, and I'm talking about county or city level. This is where the rubber meets the road; this is where the services are delivered.GÇ¥

Rossi gave attendees a glimpse into what he's been doing since leaving office in 2012, including his work as a commercial real estate investor and serving as the chairman of the board for Special Olympics Washington. Rossi said there are two types of politicians; those who enter politics in the interest of self-service, and candidates like Low, who get into politics because of their dedication to public service.

He quoted his wife, Terry, who said, "There are certain people that are politicians and there are certain people that actually have a heart for public service. There's a difference.GÇ¥

"He's running against a politician,GÇ¥ Rossi said, turning the stage over to Low. "I give you a man who really has the heart of a public servant.GÇ¥

Low's campaign platform includes public safety, safer highways, fiscal responsibility, continued community education, protecting private property, helping veterans and environmental stewardship. He spoke briefly about a few of the issues, including public safety, the need to address the countywide heroin epidemic, fiscal responsibility as it relates to taxes and spending and transportation.

"One of the biggest things that we face in east Snohomish County is transportation. Every morning the citizens of my city, they line up to get on the trestle,GÇ¥ Low said. "We don't know if it's going to take us 15 minutes to get across the trestle; we don't know if it's going to take us two hours to get across the trestle.GÇ¥

Low has started networking to learn about other transportation issues in the district, including problems with U.S. 2 and S.R. 522. Sky Valley residents are familiar with the nightly backup that occurs on eastbound S.R. 522 near the Paradise Lake Road intersection.

"The bottleneck there is embarrassing,GÇ¥ Low said. "You go from four lanes to two lanes, back to four lanes, and really that's because of poor planning.GÇ¥

Fiscal responsibility is another key pillar of Low's campaign. He hopes to end wasteful spending at the county level, he said, and would like to help the county practice better stewardship of taxpayer dollars. The current proposal to add .2 cents in sales tax to address the heroin epidemic is an example, he said. While he supports the idea of more police officers, the tax proposal does not include a definitive plan as to how the increased sales tax revenue will be used, he said.

"Yes, I'm for more officers, but I haven't seen a plan,GÇ¥ Low said. "They haven't shared what the plan is.GÇ¥

Low and Klein share the view that before implementing a new tax, a complete and comprehensive plan should be made to show exactly how the resources are to be allocated.

For more information about Low, visit www.electsamlow.com.