South County Politics: Alderwood, Edmonds, Woodway candidates on November ballot

Candidates have been sending statements to introduce themselves to voters. The statements appear in the order that candidates’ names will appear on the Nov. 7 general-election ballot and in the voters’ pamphlet.

Here are some of them:

Issue statements from two Alderwood Water District candidates

Incumbent Alderwood Water and Wastewater District Commissioner Larry Jones and challenger Charles Liu sent statements about what they believe are the most important issues in the election. The two had sent introductory statements before the primary.

The district includes Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace and nearby unincorporated areas, along with parts of Brier, Bothell, Edmonds, Mill Creek, Mukilteo and Everett.

Here are the statements:

ALDERWOOD WATER AND WASTEWATER DISTRICT Commissioner Position #3

Larry Jones

The top priority for Alderwood has been and always will be excellent water quality and affordable sustainable rates. How that service is delivered is what makes the difference. Issues facing the District currently are. Ensuring redundancy and inflow and infiltration reduction are built into our wastewater treatment plant to avoid disasters such as the West Point treatment plant failure. Capital project evaluation is important to ensure adequate infrastructure while minimizing revenue requirements. Implementing updates to support systems for more efficient service to the public. Make strong hiring selections to ensure good decision making by staff to avoid issues similar to Flint Michigan where lead leached into the water supply.

Charles Liu

The most important task for me is to learn how best to serve my community. Typically for a well established utility organization, we need to vet and maintain excellent service quality while look for improvements in operation, cost efficiency.
I am grateful for the support received during the primary and will do my best to represent all members of the Alderwood Water District. My entrance into this race was born of desire to serve as well as bring awareness to my peers on the importance of participatory democracy.

Introductory statement from an unopposed Edmonds judge

Incumbent Edmonds Municipal Court Judge Linda Coburn, who has no election opponent, sent a statement introducing herself to voters.

Coburn won appointment to the position shortly after former Municipal Court Judge Douglas Fair won election to the South Snohomish County District Court in 2014.

Here is her statement:

Edmonds Municipal Court #1
Linda Coburn
Judge Linda Coburn has been the Edmonds Municipal Court judge since 2015 and has been an Edmonds resident for 25 years. She is endorsed by Mayor Dave Earling and all Edmonds City Council members.
After graduating from the UW, she earned an advanced degree in journalism and spent 13 years as a reporter and editor at the Seattle Times. Her reporting career and connection to stories of injustice led her to the law, and in 2005, she graduated with honors from Seattle University Law School.

Judge Coburn is committed to equal access to justice. She received the highest rating — “Exceptionally Well Qualified” — from seven statewide judicial evaluation organizations.

One of four Woodway incumbents has a challenger

Only one of the four Town of Woodway incumbents has a challenger.

That’s Councilmember Bill Anderson, who faces a challenge on the Nov. 7 general-election ballot from Town Planning Commissioner Andrew DeDonker.

Woodway Mayor Carla Nichols, and Council members Thomas Whitson and Kent Saltonstall are unopposed.

— By Evan Smith

Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.

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