By Chris Hendrickson, Contributing Writer
Sultan Mayor Carolyn Eslick has announced that she will be the Republican candidate in this fall's special election for the seat of the Snohomish County Executive.
Eslick, who has served as the Mayor of Sultan since 2007, will run against current Executive John Lovick, who was appointed to the position last June following the resignation of Aaron Reardon. The Executive position will be on the ballot this November in a special election, the results of which will determine who will serve the final year of the existing term. The seat will then be on the ballot again in 2015 to fill the next four-year term; which will run from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2019.
Eslick was recently approached by representatives from the Republican party of Snohomish County, and asked to consider running for the county executive position.
Eslick stated that it was an amazing honor just to be asked.
"I thought about it for about four minutes,GÇ¥ said Eslick.
The month of February was troublesome for Eslick; her husband suffered a stroke while the couple was on vacation in Bakersfield, Calif., and had to be hospitalized. Matters were further complicated by inclement weather conditions which made her return drive home difficult.
And then last week, her vehicle was ransacked and burglarized, along with her home, which was burglarized twice in one day.
"We had some terrible things happen to us,GÇ¥ said Eslick.
She shared that being asked to be a candidate was a bright spot during an otherwise trying month. She will begin her campaign immediately and is seeking volunteers to assist in her efforts.
Eslick, who has lived in Sultan since 1979, is currently serving in her second term as the mayor of Sultan. Prior to being the mayor she served on Sultan's City Council for a total of six years starting with a two-year appointment term which began in 1996; followed by a four-year term for which she was elected in 1998. She successfully ran for mayor in 2007 and was reelected in the 2011 election.
In 2010, Eslick founded her nonprofit organization GROW Washington, which she continues to operate as the director. GROW Washington is a "small business incubatorGÇ¥ which helps teach aspiring entrepreneurs how to establish and develop their own businesses. GROW offers instruction on such entrepreneurial basics as how to obtain a business license, track inventory, market products and creatively display merchandise.
Once they become members, business-owners are given the opportunity to attend additional classes and are given affordable access to retail space. Other benefits include free publicity, referral benefits and even funding opportunities.
A long-time Sky Valley business-owner; prior to her work with GROW Washington Eslick owned and operated the Dutch Cup restaurant in Sultan for many years.
Eslick shared the news of her candidacy at her Coffee with the Mayor event on Friday morning. Her campaign will begin immediately. She will focus on fundraising and spreading word about her candidacy throughout Snohomish County, as well as continuing to concentrate on her mayoral responsibilities for the city of Sultan.
Should Eslick win the special election, she would take office immediately following the election certification in late November. This would mean that Sultan City Council would need to appoint a member of the council to serve as mayor for the remainder of Eslick's term, which expires on December 31, 2015.
If Eslick is unsuccessful during November's special election, she will run for the seat again during the regular election in 2015.
To check for updates and campaign progress visit Eslick's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/carolyneslick.
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