The Herald Editorial Board’s endorsements for the Aug. 4 primary conclude with city council races in Lake Stevens and Mukilteo. Voters’ top two choices in the primary will move on to the Nov. 3 general election.
For Lake Stevens City Council, Position No. 5, the candidates include Michael Boe, a retired Air Force master sergeant and current correctional officer at the state prison in Monroe; Jeff Koon, a general contractor and owner of Bacari Homes; and Rauchel McDaniel, who owns the Lake Stevens Mini Mart and Gourmet Cup Espresso.
All three candidates are parents who are involved and committed to their community. They agree on the importance of adequately funding fire and police services, road and park maintenance and new sidewalk construction, while recognizing the constraints of revenue from property taxes and building and impact fees. Both McDaniel and Boe believe the revenue is available or will be as the economy improves, but Koon said he believes the city can do more to encourage more business to come to Lake Stevens and increase revenue through growth.
As a contractor working in cities throughout the county, Koon said he believes Lake Stevens has lost new business to Everett and Marysville. Koon said the city needs to make it easier to understand its schedule of building and business fees and reduce what he sees as a churn of employees in the department of planning and community development.
We believe Koon’s insight and experience regarding building and development issues would be helpful to the council as Lake Stevens confronts the issues regarding growth and the local economy.
For Mukilteo City Council, Position No. 6, the candidates are Jon Boyce, who owns a real estate business in Mukilteo; Maxwell Chen, a student at Edmonds Community College; and Richard Emery, who is self-employed in home remodel and repair and owns and manages rental properties. Emery has served previously on the Mukilteo City Council, appointed in 2008, winning re-election in 2009 but losing re-election in 2013.
Mukilteo’s leading issues are related to parks and transportation. Except for minor points, the candidates are in general agreement on most issues.
Regarding regular passenger service at Paine Field, Emery says demand may ultimately be the deciding factor, but court challenges may offer opportunities to win some concessions. Boyce suggests a potential compromise, a nightly curfew on all flights if regular service was allowed.
The only real division, between Emery and Boyce, involves the city’s park plans for Japanese Gulch. Boyce objects to a process that he believes has not been transparent and inclusive enough of other groups and opposes any consideration of BMX bike trails until some areas damaged by trails have been restored. Emery also wants to see remediation but is more open to allowing use by mountain bikes outside of sensitive areas but in areas of the larger park that were previously developed.
All three candidates are generally supportive of Mukilteo’s current administration and have given much thought to the issues and understand the constraints involved. Choosing among the three comes down to a matter of approach.
Boyce and Chen have drive behind their positions. And Boyce, in convincing the council to reverse a vote and install sidewalks in one neighborhood, shows he can muster public support. But we believe Emery, based on his temperament and his past work on the council, would be most effective working in concert with the rest of the council.
We also encourage city officials to include Chen as part of a city task force now being formed on transportation issues. Chen has proved himself as an effective part of student government at EdCC, and his skills will be of use to Mukilteo.
Correction: An earlier version of this editorial misidentified Rauchel McDaniel. Her name has been corrected.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
