Snohomish executive facing county council challenger

It's been more than two years since Aaron Reardon resigned his position as the Snohomish County Executive. The Snohomish County Council unanimously appointed former Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick to fill the position in June 2013, and a special election was held in 2014 to determine who would serve the final year of Reardon's term.

Executive Lovick prevailed against challenger, Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick, with more than 55 percent of the vote.

Next month voters will decide who will be the Snohomish County Executive for the next four-year term. This time around, Lovick faces Snohomish County Council Chairman Dave Somers.

Lovick

Lovick served 13 years in the United States Coast Guard, 31 years in the Washington State Patrol GÇô trooper of the year in 1992 GÇô 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 a total of nine years.

Since becoming county executive, Lovick has focused on jobs, safe schools and safe roads. He implemented 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 increase safety for children who walk to school every day.

He has zeroed in on issues surrounding homelessness, mental illness and substance abuse, and hopes to open a new facility at the Carnegie Building in downtown Everett called the Rapid Recidivism Reduction Center. The new program would provide temporary housing, treatment, employment assistance and other services to individuals as they are released from the Snohomish County Jail.

Somers

Somers is serving his fourth term on the Snohomish County Council representing District No. 5. Somers was first elected to the council in 1997, was reelected in 2005 and has held office ever since. The long-term Monroe area resident has extensive background as a fisheries biologist. He worked for the Tulalip Tribes as a habitat protection biologist for 18 years and served for two years as the protected species policy analyst for the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

Somers has taken a proactive approach with environmental issues in east Snohomish County related to the Skykomish River. Earlier this year, a group of residents from the Mann Road area just outside of Sultan contacted Somers with concerns about flooding. When the river begins to rise, residents of the area wonder how long they will continue to have access to and from their properties.

Somers traveled to the site to hear the concerns, and brought public works and surface water management staff with him. Since then, the county has been engaged in the Mann Road Hydraulic Study, which has involved working with consultants to determine how and when the roads in the area begin to flood.

The following is a Q&A with Snohomish County Executive candidates, where Lovick and Somers provided written-á responses to Monitor questions:

Why do you want to be the Snohomish County Executive? What do you hope to accomplish?

Lovick: Snohomish County is a thriving and vibrant county providing a great quality of life to those who live, work and play here.-á I am privileged to work with talented and dedicated County staff who work very hard to provide excellent and efficient services to our neighbors.-á In my 2 -+ years as County Executive, I have brought responsible fiscal management by saving taxpayers millions of dollars. I have strengthened job opportunities by creating a climate for businesses to grow. Our low unemployment rate of 3.9 percent is lower than the state and national average. Public Safety continues to be a top priority and I will work hard to prevent the County Council from cutting Public Safety. My goal is to provide solid leadership for a bright future!

Somers: Snohomish County is a really wonderful place to live and work and play. I am very proud of my accomplishments during my four terms on the County Council and I want to continue to work to protect and enhance our county. We have been through some rough times in county government over the past several years and I want to get us back on an even keel. The current administration has taken a number of actions that threaten our county government's financial health including unnecessary pay raises for our best paid employees, pushing-á and then abandoning a very expensive new courthouse, ignoring County Council directions on labor negotiations, throwing money at programs that are unnecessary of that could be funded by other, and many other acts. These actions will harm our ability to serve our citizens.

I intend to make sure our financial house is in order by controlling spending increases on non-essential programs. I also want to continue to work on addressing our traffic issues, planning wisely for future growth in our county, attracting high quality jobs, providing great educational and training opportunities and working with all our citizens. I have extensive experience with all facets of government, and have very broad support from diverse interests including business, environmental, labor and both political parties. I want to keep working to solve the complex problems and issues facing the county and its citizens.

In March of this year, the Snohomish County Health District released a report citing an "epidemic level of drug overdoses,GÇ¥ from opiate drugs like oxycodone and heroin. How can the county mitigate the effects of the current heroin problem?

Lovick: We need to start with educating the public on drug dangers, especially our young people. Since 1999 the amount of prescribed painkillers sold in the United States has almost quadrupled. Overprescribing leads to abuse and overdose deaths. As a County we need to realize that these unused prescription drugs left in the medicine cabinet are easily accessible, especially to youth. Heroin is a major problem in our County and we need to stop the tide of drugs coming into the County. We also need to properly dispose of the unwanted prescription pills in our medicine cabinet and continue to educate our citizens how to do so.-á -á -á

Somers: Addressing the current epidemic requires a multi-pronged approach. First, it needs to be recognized that there is a nationwide heroin epidemic, so we need to engage our congressional delegation to get at the source of some of the problem ' prescription drug abuse. Many people get "hookedGÇ¥ on prescription pain killers and then move to heroin which is a cheaper alternative. Locally we have to continue to improve our alternative treatment programs such as the one I support at the Carnegie Building in Everett. Simply locking up drug abusers does not work ' they need treatment and the opportunity for a path back to a more normal life including shelter, food, training, and employment opportunities. We must also continue to try to slow the supply of drugs by law enforcement against traffickers and dealers. All these activities must be done cooperatively with the county, our cities, adjacent counties, state and federal authorities.

Residents of east Snohomish County along the Skykomish River have cited concerns over flooding and property loss from bank erosion. How can the county better facilitate projects to help with these issues?

Lovick: The County is not able to spend public money on private property; however, our surface water department offers technical assistance and guidance to those in affected areas. The County can facilitate projects by providing guidance to property owners.

Somers: I am working with east county residents to improve drainage along the Skykomish River. The roads and other facilities in this area are old and outdated and contribute to the problem. We are currently developing both a strategy and a plan for addressing those issues. As your County Executive, I would continue to support bank protection efforts to protect private property, especially protection and planting of vegetation that helps protect from erosion, bank stabilization methods such as strategic bank hardening projects using modern techniques that both protect the bank and property as well as protect the environment. We must also strongly discourage new development on the flood plain to minimize future destruction of private property and public expenses.

In the past, the county has funded transportation safety improvements on U.S. 2, even though it's a state highway. What more can be done to help improve safety along U.S. 2?

Lovick: The County has partnered with the State on safety projects and would welcome such partnerships in the future. During the 2015 legislative session, $665 million was earmarked for transportation projects in Snohomish County, with only $17 million for safety improvements on U. S. 2.-á This is not enough funding. Having patrolled U.S. 2 as a State Trooper, I know firsthand the transportation needs in that area. We need to work with the U. S. 2 Coalition, our legislators and congressional delegation to get funding for U.S. 2.

Somers: Highway 2 is always a top priority of mine when we set our legislative agenda each year. Approximately six years ago I put $2 million into the county road budget for safety improvements along Highway 2 including funding for the median "turtlesGÇ¥ to warn people when they were crossing the center line. The WA Department of Transportation has completed an analysis of the Highway 2 corridor that identifies key safety improvements. As County Executive, I would prioritize having our Road Department cooperate with WSDOT to jointly identify and fund safety improvements at locations where county roads intersect Highway 2. We can better leverage state and local transportation dollars if we work closely together. -á -á

How do you see outdoor recreation developing in Snohomish County and what would you do to assist in that vision?

Lovick: Outdoor recreation is a major economic driver in our community.-á The tourism industry is the third largest business sector we have in the County. It is especially critical to our small and rural communities. We have beautiful rivers, the sound, and breathtaking mountains and trails. As a County we need to make sure we maintain these great areas and enhance the quality of life for our citizens by keeping our trail heads accessible, providing safe and secure parking areas near our recreation areas, and adequately funding responsible outdoor recreation.-á -á

Somers: Outdoor recreation is vitally important to the county. We have made some great strides during my terms on the County Council improving outdoor recreation opportunities in east county and countywide. I serve as Chair of the Conservation Futures Board and we have funded many new parks for outdoor use including Storm Lake, the eastside rail corridor, a new park and water access in Sultan, the Sultan Shooting Sports Park, Heybrook Ridge, Lake Roesiger Park, the Centennial Trail, Fairfield Park, and additions to Lord Hill Regional Park.

As your County Executive, I will continue to prioritize improving our park system including further improvements to the Evergreen State Fairgrounds, and establish trails between Monroe and Snohomish as well as along the Eastside Rail corridor. We also must complete the new park and ball fields as part of the Brightwater mitigation agreement. I strongly support both active recreation such as soccer and ball fields, as well as more passive recreation such as camping, fishing and hiking.

More information about Somers, visit www.davesomers.org. More information about Lovick at www.electjohnlovick.com.