Copyright Everett Herald
EVERETT — Amid four contested races for City Council seats in Everett, there was little separating two races as two incumbents saw wider margins after initial results were released Tuesday. City Council members in Everett serve part-time for four-year terms and earn $33,372 per year. Snohomish County will continue counting ballots throughout the week and certify election results Nov. 25. District 1 Erica Weir took an early lead in the race to represent much of north Everett on the city council, earning 51.3% of the vote against Sam Hem, who earned 47.9%. Weir is the general manager of the Village Theatre. Her top priorities include improving the city’s budget, addressing homelessness and improving access to housing. She said she would encourage the use of public-private partnerships to address the city’s budget challenges, focus on growing home ownership opportunities, and work to improve outcomes for those needing homelessness-related resources. Hem is a labor leader for the local sheet metal workers union. His top priorities are public safety, affordable housing, workforce development and improving pedestrian safety. Hem said departments like police, fire and social workers need to be fully funded to ensure they can do their work. He advocated for a “housing first” approach when combating homelessness, speaking to workers to find cost-cutting possibilities in the city budget, and looked to encourage retail development in District 1, a largely residential area. Both Hem and Weir were first-time candidates. The District 1 incumbent, Mary Fosse, announced in April that she would not run to retain her seat. As of Monday, Hem reported $52,715 in campaign contributions and Weir reported $21,151 in campaign contributions. District 2 Incumbent Paula Rhyne, a legislative assistant, will likely retain her seat on the city council after facing a challenge from Ryan Crowther, the founder of the Everett Music Initiative. Initial results Tuesday showed Rhyne earned 59.8% of the vote compared to Crowther’s 40.1%. Rhyne’s top priorities are affordability, livability and public safety. Her campaign highlighted what she saw as successes from her first term, including votes to amend city zoning to allow for more housing construction, implementing new police department technology and increasing penalties for wage theft. She said she would take a holistic approach to combating crime and look for new revenue solutions to manage the city’s ongoing structural deficit. Crowther’s top priorities are public safety and economic development. He advocated for allocating more funding to departments like permitting and economic development to drive revenue, as well as using marketing to attract visitors to the city’s downtown core. He advocated for renewing the city’s “no sit, no lie” buffer zones and expanding its mandatory minimum sentencing laws. As of Monday, Rhyne reported $43,884 in campaign contributions and Crowther reported $41,425 in campaign contributions. District 3 Current City Council president Don Schwab will serve second term on the dais, early results Tuesday showed. Schwab, a former Everett firefighter, maintained a commanding lead of nearly 60 points over challenger Marcus Nunez, a first-time candidate who works in security. As of Tuesday, Schwab earned 80.5% of the vote while Nunez earned 19.3%. Schwab’s top priorities include public safety, improving housing affordability, addressing the city’s budget challenges and increasing engagement with local neighborhood groups. He said he would prefer to look to voters for a revenue solution, work with developers to incentivize more housing construction, and encourage people to attend more neighborhood meetings. Nunez said his top priorities include improving city parks and addressing homelessness. One of his main goals is to reinstate the city’s park rangers program that was removed due to cuts made to balance the 2025 budget. He would find the funding to do so by taking “a deeper dive,” he previously said, into the city’s finances. As of Monday, Schwab reported $18,741 in campaign contributions and Nunez reported no campaign contributions. District 4 Luis Burbano, an electrical engineer, took a narrow early lead over fellow south Everett candidate Alan Rubio, a manager at a construction company, early results showed. As of Tuesday, Burbano led with just under 51% of the vote as Rubio trailed with 48.8%. Burbano’s top priorities include improving quality of life, preventing displacement from the soon-to-arrive Link light rail, improving road safety and addressing the city budget. If elected, he hopes to find space to build affordable housing, boost quality of life and improve walkability and bikeability across the city, he has said. Rubio’s top priorities include public safety and addressing the city budget. He has advocated for lowering taxes, expanding public-private partnerships and looking for creative ways to generate revenue. Rubio also said he would cut back on regulations to incentivize housing construction and increase retail business. Burbano came in third place out of the three candidates in the August primary but made it through to the general after a county judge found the front-runner, Niko Battle, ineligible to hold the position due to questions over his residency. The District 4 seat is currently held by Liz Vogeli, who announced in April that she would retire from the council at the end of her term. As of Monday, Rubio reported $26,632 in campaign contributions and Burbano reported $9,521 in campaign contributions. District 5 Ben Zarlingo, an incumbent who ran unopposed to retain his seat on the council, received 96.7% of the vote. Will Geschke: 425-339-3443; william.geschke@heraldnet.com; X: @willgeschke.
