County council rep provides update to Monroe leaders

The failure of Snohomish County's Proposition 1, transportation and public safety were just a few of the topics covered by Snohomish County Councilmember Hans Dunshee during last week's Monroe City Council meeting.

Dunshee represents Snohomish County Council District 5, which encompasses Snohomish, Lake Stevens, Monroe, Maltby, Sultan, Gold Bar and Index. Formerly occupied by County Executive Dave Somers, Dunshee was appointed to the District 5 seat after Somers transitioned to the executive's office this year. Dunshee has extensive history in the Washington House of Representatives, where he served for more than 20 years, first as the representative for the 39th District, and most recently the 44th.-á

He said representing District 5 on the council has led him back to familiar territory and given him the opportunity to take a more boots-on-the-ground approach.

"I came to the local level because I wanted to move the levers,GÇ¥ Dunshee said.-á -á

One of the many challenges faced at the county currently is public safety, especially in the county's unincorporated urban areas west of Interstate 5 near Everett, he said, and the large portion of unincorporated area located southeast of there.

Seventy-five percent of the county's budget goes to criminal justice, so Dunshee has made an effort to learn more about what law enforcement looks like. On a recent ride along with a sheriff's deputy, he said within 10 minutes of being picked up, they were heading to a shooting.

From there, it was one thing after another, including a high-speed response down Everett Mall Way.-á

"That went on for about six hours,GÇ¥ Dunshee said. "I had been scheduled for two hours, but we never had the chance for him to get me back to my house, because he was continuously moving, continuously dealing with problems.GÇ¥

The county had hoped to implement Proposition 1 ' a new criminal justice sales tax ' to help combat the ongoing heroin epidemic and resulting increase in crime, but the measure failed in the Aug. 2 primary. According to the voter's pamphlet, property crimes like burglary and theft are up 23 percent, but the county is ill-equipped to deal with the increase because the sheriff's office is currently down almost 50 deputies.

Revenue from Proposition 1 would have been used to help them build capacity, according to the county.-á

"Prop 1 went down because nobody showed up,GÇ¥ Dunshee said. "The reality is that I think if it was on in November, it would have passed, and I grumbled about that decision.GÇ¥

The low voter turnout didn't help matters, he said.

"Low turnout tends to favor conservative anti-tax votes,GÇ¥ Dunshee said. "It's just the reality.GÇ¥-á

Dunshee touched on transportation, saying he's hopeful his political experience can be used to facilitate improvements on S.R. 522, a notoriously problematic stretch of roadway.

"One of the areas that I actually hope to be able to affect the place is on 522,GÇ¥ Dunshee said. "When I was in the 44th District, we did pretty well on road stuff for [State Route] 9. Hopefully I can use those same connections on 522.GÇ¥

Zeroing in on economic development, Dunshee talked about the importance of enhancing Snohomish County's recreational tourism industry. Currently, recreation and tourism provides 15,000 jobs in Snohomish County, he said, and brings in a $1 billion in revenue. The great thing about recreation-oriented jobs is they can't be shifted to other locales, as is the case with manufacturing jobs. It's an area of job creation that he really wants to focus on and grow, he said.

"The reality is those jobs can't leave because they're Wallace Falls,GÇ¥ Dunshee said. "You can't take Wallace Falls and unbolt it and take it over to Japan or Brazil or anything like that.GÇ¥

For more information on Hans Dunshee, visit http://snohomishcountywa.gov/768/District-5.