Sultan mayoral candidates address the issues

Sultan voters should keep an eye out for their November election ballots, which will be mailed by the Snohomish County Auditor's Office on Thursday, Oct. 15. In addition to three contested Sultan City Council races, Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick is defending her seat against opponent Ray George.

Eslick

Eslick has lived in Sultan since 1979, and is serving her second term as the mayor of Sultan. She served on the Sultan City Council six years prior to being mayor, starting with a two-year appointment that began in 1996. She successfully ran for mayor in 2007 and was reelected in 2011.

Originally from Oregon, Eslick owned and operated the Dutch Cup restaurant for many years. In 2010, she founded GROW Washington, a nonprofit small business incubator, which teaches aspiring entrepreneurs how to establish and develop their own businesses. GROW Washington has storefronts locations in Sultan, Snohomish and Everett.-á

Shortly after taking office, Eslick initiated a robust volunteer program. Sultan volunteers spend time cleaning the streets, clearing trash from the parks and weeding flowerbeds 'Eslick often joins them. Last year, after Sultan residents expressed concern over the number of drug-related property crimes, Eslick organized a forum inviting all local providers to share with community members what types of services are available.

The Sultan Community Task force was organized out of that initial meeting, and has evolved into the Sultan Community Alliance.

George

Ray George, 64, lives in Sultan with his wife, Kay, and is a business owner. The couple first purchased property in Sultan in 1996, taking up permanent residence in Sultan in 2000. George said he moved to Sultan with the intention of retiring there, and has plans to do so in the near future. He is licensed through the state as a mechanical engineer, and obtained both his bachelor's and master's degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Washington.

He grew up in the Seattle area. After graduating from high school in 1969 at the age of 17, George enlisted in the Army. He served for nearly four years, including two years in Vietnam. He recently became a member of the Sultan's VFW Post No. 2554.

The Georges have two daughters, one of whom is a pharmacist at a major Seattle hospital and the other is in foreign services with the State Department, currently serving at the U.S. Embassy in Zimbabwe. George said he was motivated to run for office after years of attending city council meetings and observing what he considers to be irresponsible financial decisions made at city hall.

What is your vision for the city of Sultan in relation to economic growth?

Eslick: Economic growth is the growth of all aspects of community. It includes more families moving here, more businesses coming, good schools and safe streets.

While doorbelling in the city, I was amazed at how many new families have moved to Sultan over the last year. I always ask, "Why Sultan?GÇ¥-á The common answer is, in addition to loving the mountains, Sultan's small town community. We must maintain that small town charm to keep Sultan desirable to new and existing residents.

I am also the founder of Grow Washington, is a retail incubator for startup businesses. I started this program five years ago to encourage small business in our community. We have helped over 800 entrepreneurs start their business in our three locations, Sultan, Snohomish and Everett.

Good schools are very important and I believe we have some of the best. The Sultan Elementary has been awarded Best Achievement for the last four years. The High School Tech team was just honored nationally last week and Sultan's Music program has been honored for years.

George: Sultan has many things going in its favor, which help to compete with other locations. We are on a major highway, which is needed to move goods in and out of town. We have good schools. We are near major ports, rail lines, and urban centers and we have room to grow and expand. And the scenic beauty is a plus. These things help with getting potential investors to take a look at Sultan, but they are not enough to close the deal.

I have personally talked to several people who wanted to locate a business or build a home here, who ended up pulling the plug when doing business with the City became too difficult, too expensive, or too confusing. All of these people expressed to me their opinion that the City just makes up new requirements as they go through the process. This has given Sultan a bad reputation as a place for commercial investment. This must change.

We must continue to promote our City, but for prospects to turn into economic investors, we will need to work with them for positive results, and treat them like assets rather than adversaries.

How can the city work to mitigate backups and facilitate increased safety on U.S. 2?

Eslick: I recently met with Washington Department of Transportation, the chair of the Highway 2 Coalition, Chief of Police Monte Beaton and a representative of State Patrol to discuss US 2 Traffic. I asked WSDOT to bring their long term plan. I learned a couple of things. There is no plan for a bypass around Sultan. I learned that WSDOT is very open to new ideas from the community. WSDOT did agree to look at the possibility of battery backups for the street lights and the possibility of synchronizing the lights on Fridays and Sundays. They plan to widen the center lane to keep traffic separate. The meeting brought new light to the Highway 2 problems. The attendees committed to lobbying the state legislature for more funds to increase safety and capacity for Highway 2.

George: U.S. 2 is under the jurisdiction of the State, and even the timing of the traffic lights is controlled by the State.-á Even though each of our traffic lights has a traffic cam, it may help to establish a hot line for direct communication with the State, including weekends.-á This may have helped with a recent backup, in which one of the traffic lights was out.

What can the city do to better address issues related to drug addiction, including homelessness and property crimes? Some citizens feel that the police force is less than adequate. What are your thoughts on the current level of public safety in the city?

Eslick: Crime is down since 2009. Public Safety is the number one issue with me. Our deputies are very responsive to 911 calls but the problem is that the criminals are not being prosecuted. Due to a heavy workload, Sultan cases are (more often than not) thrown out by the Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney's Office. This results in the criminals returning to Sultan to commit more crime against our residents. The City of Sultan is in the process of negotiating with a new attorney who will be instructed to take our criminals to court and hold them accountable for the crimes they commit in our town. It's time to "tellGÇ¥ the criminals that we mean business and that they will be prosecuted.

George: Reported property crimes may be down, but that is little comfort if you show up in that lower number. I believe in prioritizing spending, just like at home. If given top priority, public safety should be the last to fall under the axe. We currently have no shortage of wasteful spending. Think of every $50k wasted as a lost police officer for six months.

Let's look at prosecuting misdemeanors to stop the revolving door. The County is not required to prosecute low level crimes, and for the most part, it doesn't. That's why we need to retain a prosecuting attorney to have a say in which cases go to court. I would also like to see an additional police officer during the week, while people are away working.

I don't claim to have all the answers for the homeless problem, but I'm willing to listen to those deeply involved in this problem. What I do know is that catering to the homeless only increases their number.-á Portland demonstrates what happens when a city caters to the homeless. Once-beautiful downtown parks are overrun with homeless. The truly destitute deserve compassion, and we should connect them with organizations that can help. But, enabling those who will not help themselves will only worsen the problem.

What are Sultan's biggest challenges and how will you work to address them?

Eslick: Sultan's biggest challenges are the drug problem and lack of jobs. Drug houses are the topic of conversation every Wednesday when I meet with the Chief of Police. The Sheriff's office and the city are working together to contact the landlords of these houses. We have been successful in the eviction process only because of this partnership. It takes time and can never let up. The second issue is lack of jobs. The city is active in conversation with manufacturing businesses that are interested in starting business here.

George:-á 1. Public safety:-á Like most jurisdictions, Law Enforcement is our largest expense, consuming 51 percent of our General Fund.-á Our funds are not unlimited. Spending priorities should be realigned where public safety is at the top, and eliminating unimportant expenditures, like remodeling City Hall to give every employee a private office. The City is considering hiring a prosecutor, which I support in principle.-á Before we pick up the whole tab for this, consider talking to the County Prosecutor to work out arrangements to prosecute the worst repeat offenders roaming our streets.

2. Attracting more commercial enterprises:-á Where we have failed, and the easiest and least expensive thing to fix, I cannot express better than Henry Goodfriend, NAI Global in New York, "Friendly Government GÇô a business-friendly atmosphere will be a key factor in attracting business. If a business operator believes he has to jump through many governmental hoops before the first shovelful of dirt is turned, he may decide to go someplace with a friendlier atmosphere.GÇ¥

3. Controlling spending:-á Visit www.votesmartsultan.vpweb.com for examples where Sultan has failed to control its urge to spend your money, particularly the $6 Million Dollar Bridge. Go to the City's web site and look at the October 10 Council Retreat Packet, Pages 17 and 37 http://ci.sultan.wa.us/your-government/city-council/council-meeting-agenda/ to see what's in store for 2016. "The infrastructure needs are much greater than the funding.GÇ¥ This includes $4,596,061 for the pedestrian and bicycle bridge which has no prospect, at this time, for funding. "The bottom line is that Sultan residents will need to pay more in the future to maintain their street system. Council should consider [sic] setting up a Transportation District in 2016.GÇ¥ The purpose would be for you to pay yet another utility fee every month.

A current lawsuit alleges that the city misappropriated utility funds by spending the money on non-utility related items, and several candidates associated with the lawsuit are running in the current election. Should candidates with pending legal action against a municipality be allowed to run for office in that city?

Eslick: I believe that it is a major conflict of interest, creating a terrible moral dilemma for the people trying to do this and I would never consider such an action against my community. But having said that, I will also say that I believe that voters will ask the right questions and make the right choices. So far these lawsuits have cost Sultan citizens over $50,000, with the first round getting thrown out as a "frivolous lawsuit.' I don't like to waste money and I don't like to mislead people. Republic Services is a for-profit company and they have no intentions to provide free recycling to our citizens. I also believe that our citizens deserve to have their cemetery and parks maintained. I am always available to explain the budget and the laws concerning how City governments can spend tax dollars.

George: First, this involves precisely two of the eight candidates, not several. To any candidate who would say that they should not be allowed to run for office, I would ask this: Can you simultaneously honor your oath to defend the Constitution, while denying one's Constitutional right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances?-á Does exercising a right remove other rights of citizenship?-á If elected, I will not abuse authority to deny the people's rights.

This question presumes City Hall's hands are clean, and it is a victim. Were that the case, why has the City failed three times to get the suit dismissed on summary judgement? City Hall is playing politics with your money, intentionally pushing, though needlessly, to run up the City's attorney's fees as much as possible before the election.