Choices to be made

Citizens listen to candidates at a forum in Stanwood Wednesday. It was a chance for questions to be both asked and answered.

Candidates and initiative representatives gave locals a peek into their views at a Wednesday forum hosted by the Stanwood branch of American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the NEWS.

No matter which of the candidates are elected in the Nov. 3 general election, citizens have won, said Jackie DeFazio, forum moderator and AAUW member. After all, a democracy depends on people being willing to serve in a public office.

Tim Loney, Stanwood city councilman, said he decided to run for Stanwood city mayor because of a strong belief in competition in politics. The city has a history of unopposed races, and he didn’t want the mayor position to be one of them.

While campaigning, Loney heard that Stanwood needs a stronger business community, more to offer its youth and improvements made to parks and trails.

Dianne White He sees the city’s number one need as determining where the poor reputation for supporting businesses comes from, and working to fix it.

Dianne White, QFC pharmacist and incumbent, said she is still hopeful that a park district with similar boundaries to the Stanwood- Camano School District will be formed. At the time the city was ready to ask voters, a school measure had failed and the plan was shelved.

Currently, 5,500 city residents pay for the upkeep of parks, such as Heritage Park, that serves 40,000 people, she said.

It’s vital that more family wage jobs are created in Stanwood, White said. The lack of those jobs is what is preventing the city from having more retail business and motels.

Stanwood City Council Position 1 Candidate Conrad Ryer is unopposed in his re-election bid. He said he is proud of the work completed in the last four years, including the new personnel policies, the new water treatment facility and the opening of Lions Park.

Don Timmerman Ryer said he is in favor of responsible development.

“We must ensure that our town remains livable,” he said.

Both city council position 2 candidates Gerald (JJ) Steik and Tim Pearce also expressed the desire to preserve livability.

Pearce feels his terms on the city planning commission have prepared him for a council seat. The city needs to strengthen its design standards to ensure quality development, he said.

The city should seek new commerce that will complement current businesses and city character, Pearce said.

The city needs to look at the issue of offsite signs and find something that will work well for local businesses while remaining tasteful, he said.

Steik said the city doesn’t need big box stores or large housing developments. Instead, it should improve the existing buildings.

Festivals, shows and community events would help bring in more revenue for the city and local businesses, he said.

Steik was the owner of the former Stillaguamish Coffee Company in downtown Stanwood and said he knows first-hand the difficulties local businesses face. Common sense ought to guide the sign ordinance.

Leonard Kelley, city council Position 7, was unopposed for his re-election bid, and did not attend the forum.

Gary Bradley, incumbent for Camano Fire District 1, fire commissioner Position 5, was unable to attend the forum.

His opponent, Don Timmerman, said he has watched the island population grow in the last 15 years. He feels his planning skills and a fresh set of eyes would provide a necessary addition to the board of fire commissioners. The board also needs to communicate more with the public, he said.

For the uncontested Stanwood Camano School Board Position 1, incumbent Patrick Patterson said the district has a lot to be proud of.

“From the top down, we are making a clear effort to address areas of concern,” said Patterson.

It is a unique American value to educate every student, not just for economic benefits, but also to benefit civil life, he said.

School board Position 2 incumbent Roger Myers was not in attendance. The position is unopposed.

In the race for the District 1 seat for Snohomish County Council, candidate Ellen Hiatt Watson (D) said she feels connected to the area and residents through childhood experiences such as learning how to swim in Lake Howard and working on local farms.

She noted development as an important concern for Stanwood and surrounding areas.

“We want development, but we want it done wisely,” she said.

Switching gears, Watson wants to focus on maintaining quality of life in the county by protecting the environment and farming communities, working cooperatively with government agencies at every level, stabilizing the economy by creating jobs, promoting tourism and researching the possibility of a North County port district.

“I believe we need a candidate who is in touch with our citizens,” she said.

Incumbent County Council candidate John Koster (R) did not attend.

For Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Position 2, four of the five candidates attended. Snohomish County Deputy Prosecutor Scott Lord was absent.

David Hulbert said as a Superior Court judge for 12 years, he has the experience needed to fill the positon left vacant after judge James Allendoerfer retired earlier this year.

“I want Snohomish County to be the worst place to be a criminal and the best place to raise a family,” he said.

Scott Peterson has been a private practice lawyer for 15 years, and takes a lot of pro-bono cases.

Peterson said he would like to be appointed to the judge’s commissioners committee to help fix the system. The commissioners see about 80 percent of the Superior Court cases. Some appeals he has made for clients have been based on commissioner decisions.

Lawyer Rico Tessandore has filled in as a judge pro tem, or temporary judge, for Superior Court for three years and all four district courts for four years. He also has served as an arbitrator, a county prosecuting attorney and is currently a member of the Sno-Isle Libraries Board of Trustees and is president of the Snohomish County Bar Association.

Lawyer Joe Wilson said he offers his experience in civil law and life. Most of what a Superior Court judge rules on is civil law, which Wilson has 14 years of experience in.

In addition to the candidates, representatives informed attendees about local levies and initiatives.

The Sno-Isle Libraries levy lid lift of 9 cents, to 40 cents per $1,000 of assessed value, is a compromise that includes both a revenue increase and cuts for the library district, said Mary Kelly, Sno-Isle community relations and marketing director.

The district’s shortfall of $2.5 million in 2010 was a result of the 1 percent cap on revenue from property taxes, and not the economy, she said. However, because of the economy, the district is asking for less of an increase.

The district cuts include a 3 percent salary reduction for nine senior staff members, a salary freeze for all staff, delaying the purchase of a new library computer system, leaving some empty positions unfilled and cuts in material purchases, Kelly said. If the levy lid lift doesn’t pass, open hours will be cut at all libraries.

In statewide propositions,

Initiative 1033 concerns state, county and city revenue.

According to the ballot, “This measure would limit growth of certain state, county and city revenue to annual inflation and population growth, not including voter-approved revenue increases. Revenue collected above the limit would reduce property tax levies.”

Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen (D-Camano) delivered statements against the initiative.

Haugen compared the initiative to a similar formula used to pass Colorado’s Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights (TABOR) law that resulted in “disastrous effects.” Colorado voters suspended the law in November 2005.

“This measure uses an ax to deal with property tax,” said Haugen. “We need to deal with it using a scalpel.”

A recession is the worst time to funnel funding away from cities and counties, she said. Should the measure pass, local communities would continue to struggle rather than capture a natural growth coming out of a recession if the measure passes, Haugen said.

Referendum Measure 71 “would expand the rights, responsibilities, and obligations accorded stateregistered same-sex and senior domestic partners to be equivalent to those of married spouses, except that a domestic partnership is not a marriage,” according to the ballot.

The bill provides a safety net for families, friends and coworkers to collect on earned benefits and rights, said Kathy Reim in her statements for the approval of Ref. 71.

Senior domestic partners would also be able to collect much needed health and pension benefits, said Reim.

Representing arguments against the bill, Larry Stickney said the measure is a “Trojan Horse” for the homosexual community to achieve marriage status.

“Seniors have been brought into this as a cynical political ploy,” said Stickney. “If approved, you’re going to see a lot of corruption.”

There are no longer any ballot drop-off sites in the city of Stanwood. All voter ballots must be post-marked by Nov. 3.