Monroe councilmember challenging Thomas for mayoral seat

Monroe Councilmember Jim Kamp is aiming to unseat Mayor Geoffrey Thomas in this year’s general election.

Both candidates are long-time residents focused on promoting the importance of growth, economic development and responsible budgeting, and each has their reasons for running this year.

The council’s decision to repeal term limits in March is one bullet point that prompted Kamp to try out for the seat. Some constituents were frustrated with the incumbent’s decision not to veto the move. He was one of two councilmembers that cast dissenting votes.

“It should have gone to the ballot,” he said.

Kamp was first elected to the council in 2011. He won by the closest margin in Monroe’s history — two votes clinched the election. He said visioning for Monroe is one of his highest priorities.

Another issue that motivates Kamp is the potential rezone of East Monroe. The owners of the Heritage Baptist Fellowship Church have spent years trying to turn the roughly 40-acre property from open space into commercial. The debate is still unresolved, and one reason he wants to stay on at the city, he said.

Kamp’s background is in database administration and project management. He was most recently a project manager at Boeing in Everett, and has since retired. He is currently completing a web services training program for Amazon, and said he’s going back to work soon.

Kamp has lived in Western Washington his entire life, and he moved his family to Monroe in 1996. After arriving, he volunteered with the Monroe School District and at his church. Prior to filling the council seat, he was on the city’s planning commission.

Six years on the council and his prior work experience have taught Kamp the skills he believes are necessary to finding solutions for the city. He is well versed in how government functions, he said, and knows how to follow through with large projects. He said he is one to approach the experts and get the facts.

“My big concern is that I don’t see a lot of vision,” he said.

Kamp said he wants to revive the role of economic development manager, a position that was eliminated when Thomas took office. Monroe needs someone that can really market the city full-time as a viable destination, he said.

Kamp also wants to make the budget process more transparent. Usually the council does not see the numbers until the document is in its final stages, he said.

Kamp said the mayor’s seat is the last place to fight for “the issues you really care about.” He said he wants to ensure it is the people that are being represented.

Thomas said he is running for reelection this year to build on his commitment to public service, and to apply those efforts in the Monroe community. The job is full-time, and it requires being on call 24/7, he said.

“You have to really enjoy what you do,” he said.

The incumbent spent six years on the council before winning the mayor’s seat in 2013. He obtained a degree in planning at the University of California-Davis, where he met his wife, Lara, in 1992. The couple moved their family to Monroe in 2000.

Thomas has worked in the public and private sector. For the past nine years he has been employed as a senior legislative analyst for the Snohomish County Council. His resume includes a stint as a firefighter, planning commissioner in Olympia, volunteer church leader, coach, and he was on the committee that helped develop the plan for the Monroe School District bond that passed in 2015.

Thomas said he has built strong relationships with local partners to carry out projects large and small to enhance the community while in office. One example is his recent role in bringing the Wagner Swifts sculpture into downtown.

Another is the collaboration with the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and the Monroe Police Department to bring an embedded social worker to the Sky Valley. This year he also helped plan for the city’s new mobile stage. Pushing for the impermanent alternative saved the taxpayers a couple hundred thousand dollars, he said.

Transportation concerns have been and will remain a major priority if reelected, Thomas said. He said his major targets have been extending 191st Avenue Southeast into downtown, expanding the bottleneck along State Route 522, and improving the intersection at Blueberry Lane and North Kelsey Street.

Thomas said his focus is also on sustainable growth, bringing more businesses into Monroe and putting policies in place that will appeal to and retain those companies. He also said he aims to remain fiscally responsible.

“I need to do all of this within our budget, and make sure we have a sustainable budget into the future,” he said.