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South County Politics: 32nd District State Senate candidates debate property taxes

The state property-tax level has become a major issue among State Senate candidates in the 32nd Legislative District. Voters have received their primary election ballots, which are due in the U.S. mail or ballot mailbox by Aug. 7. The top two vote-getters regardless of party affiliation advance to the November general election. Democratic incumbent Maralyn…

South County Politics: Two Democrats plan to seek Kagi’s position

Two Democrats have announced that they plan to seek the position that Democratic 32nd Legislative District Rep. Ruth Kagi will leave after 10 two-year terms in State House of Representatives. One is Shoreline City Council member Christopher Roberts, the 32nd District Democrats’ state committeeman, who expects to get support from that group. The other is…

South County Politics: Kagi, Ryu, other legislators change course on public records

State Reps. Ruth Kagi and Cindy Ryu, along with 39 other legislators, reversed course after an unpopular vote last week that would have exempted the legislature from state public records law. In addition, the two apologized for their votes for the original bill. After a public outcry, the legislators joined newspaper editorial boards across the…

South County Politics: Two Democratic 32nd District legislators get election challengers

Two Democratic 32nd District legislators, State Sen. Marilyn Chase and State Rep. Cindy Ryu already have challengers for the August primary and November general election. Neither of the two candidates who hope two challenge the Democratic incumbents is a Republican; both have run for office before. Chase’s opponent, Shoreline City Councilmember Jesse Salomon, is a…

South County Politics: Legislators say that capital budget tops other priorities

South Snohomish County Democratic state legislators say that passing a capital budget is at the top of a long to-do list now that Democrats will control both the State’s Senate and the State House of Representatives when the 2018 Legislature starts its 60-day session in January. Democrats took control of the Senate when a Democratic…

South County Politics: Election storylines

Tuesday’s elections in Edmonds, Lynnwood and Mountlake Terrace will answer several big questions. Here are some that I’ll be watching: Can Lynnwood’s mayor hold off a councilmember’s challenge?                   Can Lynnwood Mayor Nicola Smith hold off a challenge from City Councilmember George Hurst? Recent Lynnwood mayors have faced councilmember challenges with mixed results. Twelve years…

South County Politics: Voter registration, school candidates

Oct. 9 deadline to register online or by mail Monday, Oct. 9, is the deadline to register online or by mail to vote in the Nov. 7 general election or for previously registered Washington voters to file a change of address. New Washington voters can register through Oct. 30, but after Monday, Oct. 9, they…

South County Politics: Edmonds Port Commission and School Board candidates

Introductory statements from Edmonds Port Commission incumbent and challenger Incumbent Edmonds Port Commissioner Stephen Johnston and former Edmonds School Board member Susan Paine are running in the Nov. 7 general election for the port position that Johnson holds by appointment. It is one of three port district positions on the November ballot. The port district…

South County Politics: Edmonds city and port candidates

Introductory statements from Edmonds incumbent and challenger Edmonds City Council incumbent Kristiana Johnson and her challenger in the Nov. 7 general election, Josh Thompson, recently sent statements introducing themselves to voters. Here are their statements in the order that their names will appear on the November ballot and in the voters’ pamphlet: City of Edmonds…

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…

South County Politics: County councilmember, Edmonds judge, Lynnwood mayor top fundraising

An incumbent county councilmember, an Edmonds judge and the Lynnwood mayor lead local candidates in fundraising for the Nov. 7 general election. Incumbent Democratic Snohomish County Councilmember Terry Ryan leads all south Snohomish County candidates with $81,793 raised and $21,361 spent. He reports a $1,500 campaign debt. Ryan’s Republican opponent, Marcus Barton, has reported raising…

South County Politics: fire district, county council elections

Challenger says he can defeat Fire District 1 incumbent Snohomish County Fire District 1 challenger Mike Ellis says the he can defeat incumbent Fire Commissioner David Chan, in the Nov. 7 general election despite Chan’s big lead in results from the Aug. 1 primary. Final results of the primary showed Chan with 42.59 percent of…

South County Politics: School board candidates, Monday registration deadline

Issue statements from school-board candidates in primary Edmonds School Board candidates Deborah Kilgore, Cindy Sackett and Cathy Baylor recently sent statements about what they think are the most important issues in this year’s school board election. The three are running on the Aug. 1 primary ballot for the position on the Edmonds School District 15…

South County Politics: Legislators wait for capital-budget agreement to end special session

Most local legislators are at home while the legislature’s third special session continues with a few negotiators working on a final capital budget. Democratic State Rep. Strom Peterson says that the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a capital budget but the Republican-controlled State Senate has held it up pending repairs to problems raised by…

South County Politics: Issue statements from Alderwood Water candidates

Publisher’s note: At the end of this article, you’ll find an audio file recording of this story, courtesy of Edmonds voice coach Malya Muth. She will providing recordings of selected stories, as a service to our readers who may have vision issues or just prefer listening to reading. Alderwood Water and Wastewater District board candidates…

South County Politics: Introducing Alderwood Water District candidates in the primary

Alderwood Water and Wastewater District board candidates Charles Liu, Larry Jones and Jeremiah Styles recently sent statements introducing themselves to voters. The three are running on the Aug. 1 primary ballot for the position on the Alderwood Water and Wastewater District board of commissioners that Jones now holds. The top two vote-getters in the primary…

South County Politics: Preview of arguments on regional fire authority ballot measure

Lynnwood voters and voters in unincorporated areas served by Snohomish County Fire District 1 will decide in the Aug. 1 election whether to form a regional fire authority. The cities of Edmonds, Mountlake Terrace and Brier get service from the fire district by contract, but residents of those cities don’t vote in district elections. Although…