Four Sultan council seats contested

Four Sultan councilmembers are each facing an opponent in this year’s general election. The eight candidates represent a range of experience levels, and personal interests.

Many have sunk countless hours of volunteer work into different city projects and programs. A few are would-be first-time office holders.

One candidate said she is hopeful residents will really get to know the people running in each race.

Christina Sivewright is vying for Marianne Naslund’s council seat. She said with so many positions up in the air this round, a real chance exists to shake things up. A four-year resident, Sivewright said she hopes to be “a bigger part of finding a solution that is good for Sultan.”

“I don’t think things are necessarily being done wrong or badly now; I just think there is room for growth, and I am an outside-of-the-box kind of thinker,” she said.

Sivewright said she didn’t enter the race with a personal agenda. She said she wants to work toward what is best for all people, who are tied to a number of issues.

The long-time site operator at WorkSource Monroe said she will be the first to say she does not have direct experience working in local government, but her ability to think creatively sets her apart, as well as her skills in workforce development. She has been on the board of directors for Sultan Harvest, and is co-chair for the local Veterans Day ceremony.

Her opponent also has deep roots in the community.

Naslund will finish up her first term on the council this winter. She has been a planner of the annual Sultan Shindig for nearly two decades, and she was the Shindig’s parade grand marshal this year.

Naslund is a long-time employee of the Sultan School District, and was recently recognized for her efforts. She was named the 2017 Citizen of The Year at the annual Community Civic Awards Celebration Potluck hosted in March by the Sky Valley Chamber of Commerce.

Dustin Burdette, who is running against John Seehuus, would also be a first-timer as an elected official, if he can unseat the incumbent. He moved to the community about a year ago, and is the general manager at Avery Automotive.

Burdette decided to run this year “to fracture the vote.” He said his impressions are that not everyone on the council is an independent thinker and there to represent the people free of influence from the city’s other elected officials.

There is much that works in Sultan, but still much that could also be done, Burdette said. He said Snohomish County Sherriff’s deputies do a great job policing the town, but theft is still a recurring issue. The city’s parks are beautiful and a great asset, but need more maintenance to clear away unsafe debris, such as used needles, he said.

“I guess I want to go into the position to really represent the town, and would be a great honor to have the opportunity to make a difference,” he said.

Seehuus is finishing up his second term on the council this winter. Three of those eight years he acted as mayor pro tem, and is currently serving in that role. He also worked as the director of operations for the school district for many years, where he oversaw custodial and food services.

Seehuus moved to the city in 1989, and has been “heavily involved in the community since then.” He has been a regular judge at the Shindig parade, and was vice president of the Sultan Education Foundation, and vice chairman of the U.S. 2 Traffic Safety Coalition for nearly 20 years.

“I am kind of ensconced in Sultan,” he said with a laugh.

Seehuus said he sees growth as one of the biggest issues facing the city. More jobs are needed to employ residents, but businesses usually want proof their establishment will be lucrative within a community. That translates to the need for more housing, he said.

Bob McCarty, who is up against Shaun Carr, is also finishing his first term this year. The retiree is a proponent of volunteerism and public service. He regularly puts off house work for programs like the Volunteers of America Western Washington’s Sky Valley Integrated Service Center, Shindig, Gold Dust Days in Gold Bar and many other events and organizations.

“I think of it as kind of a civic duty,” he said. “Everybody should want to do it, although they don’t.”

Between 2000 and 2005, after a move from West Seattle, McCarty would commute every day from Sultan to Sammamish, where he was a state liquor store manager. He said his special interests now lie in the city’s parks, which he hopes will only continue to be expanded.

Carr did not respond to multiple calls for this article.

Incumbent Rocky Walker said he is running for a second term to tie up a few loose ends, such as securing more funds in Olympia for infrastructure. He is up against Jason Lee, who could not be reached for this article.

Walker said he was born in Sultan and graduated from the school district before becoming a volunteer firefighter. He then took a few years away from the city, returning in 2005. He said he helped get a graffiti abatement program up and running, and has supervised various Main Street cleanup efforts.

Walker said he has seen many tough issues dealt with in the past 3 1/2 years, including homelessness. He said he isn’t catering to anyone but the people that originally elected him, and his track record speaks for itself.

“We’ve had a great council for the last four years,” he said. “We need to continue in the direction we are going.”