Snohomish County executive shares state of the county

Snohomish County Executive John Lovick provided a brief state-of-the-county address at the Monroe City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 25.

Lovick was appointed county executive in June of 2013, after Aaron Reardon vacated the position. As a result of the timing, Lovick was required to run for the executive's seat in a special election held in November 2014. He prevailed against challenger, Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick, with more than 55 percent of the vote. That election enabled him to complete the final year of Reardon's term.

Lovick will face off against County Councilmember Dave Somers, a fellow Democrat, this November for a full four-year term.-á -á

"I'm honored and humbled to be executive of this great county, and I really appreciate the opportunity to serve,GÇ¥ Lovick said.

Lovick has a diverse background that includes 13 years in the United States Coast Guard, 31 years as a Washington State Patrol trooper and six years as the Snohomish County Sheriff. He got his start in politics in Mill Creek, where he served on the city council for five years, including one year as mayor pro tem. He moved on to the Washington Legislature in 1997, where he represented the 44th District. Reelected four times, Lovick served in the Legislature for a total of nine years.

He was elected as the Snohomish County Sheriff in 2007 and 2011. After transitioning to the executive's seat in 2013, Sheriff Ty Trenary took over as sheriff. Trenary successfully ran against Sgt. Jim Upton in 2014 and is unopposed this year.-á

Lovick is fond of stating that as county executive, his focus has been on "good, safe schools, a great transportation system and jobs, jobs, jobs.GÇ¥

"I like to refer to that as "children learning and adults earning,' GÇ¥ Lovick said. "That's what good, safe schools and jobs are all about.GÇ¥

The unemployment rate, said Lovick, is down to 3.7 percent, which is a marked improvement over what it was in 2013.

"If you remember, a few years ago it was at 6 percent and we were feeling good about it,GÇ¥ Lovick said. "But it's now at 3.7 percent.GÇ¥-á

He shared information assembled by the Economic Alliance of Snohomish County, which indicates Snohomish County is first in the state of Washington when it comes to manufacturing jobs, and second in both aerospace manufacturing and technology-based jobs.

When he was sheriff, Lovick worked to keep schools safe through his school services unit and designated school resource officers. As executive, Lovick has worked to promote safety for kids in other ways, including a program called Safe Kids Improved Pathways (SKIP), which is dedicated to bridging gaps in pedestrian pathways surrounding the county's 34 elementary schools. The program's intent is to create safe and connected areas for children walking to school every day. Lovick said they have facilitated sidewalk construction in the vicinity of 21 schools across the county, so far, most recently near Maltby Elementary School.-á

Lovick said another priority is finding a way to address mental illness in Snohomish County on a more comprehensive level. He is working on implementing a new program called the Rapid Recidivism Reduction Program, also known as Triple R.

The idea is to offer services to individuals as they are released from jail, rather than just returning them to the street only to be arrested again. The county successfully sought funding from the Washington Legislature to repair the historic Carnegie Building, which is located on the corner of Wall Street and Oakes Avenue in downtown Everett.-á

He hopes to be able to use the space to bring the Triple R program to fruition.-á

"One of the biggest mental illness wards in this county is our county jail,GÇ¥ Lovick said. "We're doing a lot of things to try and keep people out of that jail.GÇ¥