Ciudad de Bothell

Incumbent Dave Somers is running for re-election for Snohomish County Executive. A former member of the Snohomish County Council, Somers has served as executive since 2016, where he manages twelve county offices, including Human Services, Medical Examiner, and Emergency Management.

In his previous term, Somers has supported measures to create parks and open spaces, invest in alternative fuels, aid salmon recovery, and develop the Snohomish County Housing Task Force to help meet the affordable housing needs of the community. More recently, Somers announced the Snohomish County Outreach Team (SCOUT) to pair social workers with law enforcement on behavioral health calls. Somers has also awarded $500,000 in federal recovery dollars for two new youth and family resource centers in the South County Korean Community Service Center and The Clearwater School. These two centers will help advance culturally-appropriate health services, community workshops, food access, and support for LGBTQ youth and families.

Somers faces challenges from Republican Bob Hagglund and Democrat Christopher Garnett. Hagglund has served as the Snohomish County Republican Legislative District committee chairman since 2020 and he ran for secretary of state in 2022. In an interview with the Everett Herald, Hagglund said that he voted for Trump in 2020 and hopes more Republicans will run on new ideas. Despite that, he touts tired old ideas like “get treatment or go to jail” policies that have failed to address the root causes of homelessness and often end in cycling people through jail who may simply need affordable housing or small amounts of support.

The other challenger, Democrat Christopher Garnett, has yet to raise any money or launch a campaign website with a platform as of early July. A brief line from an interview in a local paper quotes Garnett as promising 'rational' affordability and careful consideration of mental health resources.

Somers is by far the best choice for Snohomish County Executive.

Cindy Gobel, a certification and training specialist with the Washington Secretary of State, is running for county auditor again after a narrow loss for the position four years ago. She previously served the public as a representative with the Women’s Law Caucus in Snohomish County from 2012 to 2015. Gobel states that she has spent 11 years working in records, licensing, and animal control with law enforcement, and several more years working in elections, including some in former Secretary of State Kim Wyman's office.

Gobel views the auditor’s office as a place where we all come together – to register a pet, apply for a marriage license, or even register to vote. If elected, she has a progressive vision for strengthening our democratic systems, increasing transparency and community trust, and delivering efficient services for all residents. County auditors play an important role in upholding our election integrity, and Gobel wants to safeguard Snohomish voters from conspiracies and ensure every vote is counted. She also wants to implement accessibility measures to make sure that all Snohomish residents can make use of the services, especially non-English speakers and residents of color who have historically been left behind by the office.

Gobel is challenging incumbent auditor Garth Fell, who has 24 years of county election management experience, including previously working as Snohomish County’s elections manager and as county auditor. If re-elected, Fell wants to continue to ensure accurate, transparent, and customer-focused elections and animal services. Fell’s leadership in the auditor’s office has been characterized as “steadfastly neutral” by the Everett Herald. However, with our democracy under attack from the right, it is imperative that our next county auditor has a bold, community-focused plan that seeks to improve the office rather than keep it as is.

Also in this race is Robert Sutherland, the outgoing state representative for the 39th Legislative District. After losing his seat in the 2022 election to fellow Republican Sam Low, Sutherland is running for Snohomish County auditor. Unfortunately, Sutherland is also an election denier who stepped forward in 2021 to make false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump by unproven fraud. The last thing Snohomish County needs is a conspiracy theorist running the critical job of ensuring election security and impartiality.

Gobel has earned an impressive list of progressive and community endorsements in this race. She is the best choice for Snohomish County Auditor.

Carston Curd is a natural resources planner and licensed geologist running to bring a progressive and sustainable vision to Bothell City Council, Position 4. He currently serves on the Sound Transit Community Oversight Panel, as vice chair of the Bothell Planning Commission, and as third vice chair for the 1st Legislative District Democrats. Curd is also a volunteer for a number of grassroots and community initiatives within the Northshore area.

Curd is an advocate for green spaces and educates the community on complex topics that impact the solutions to the lack of affordable homes. As a progressive environmental advocate, his platform priorities include increasing the number of affordable homes, making transit accessible, and building resilience to urban flooding. As a current public servant in Snohomish County, Curd brings valuable experience and has garnered the support of many local Democrats including Bothell Mayor Mason Thompson.

Also running is Ann Aagaard, who brings a long list of accolades as an environmental advocate at the state and federal levels. In the late 1970s, she founded the grassroots environmental organization Save Our Valuable Environment, which worked on zoning and wetland protection measures. Her most notable achievement is the three-decade North Creek Valley wetland restoration project that now serves as a core teaching function at the University of Washington Bothell and Cascadia Community College. While we appreciate Aagaard's long record on environmental protection, her platform and policies are thin on the other pressing issues facing Bothell like housing, transit, policing, and homelessness services.

Mark Swanson has stated in local interviews that he's "not actively campaigning," though he made it through the primary election. Though he has no website available with a comprehensive look at his policy proposals, he states that there is no affordable housing crisis in Bothell, despite much evidence to the contrary. Much of his platform seems to be anti-growth, and in a League of Women Voters forum he states that he will curb growth in the city, preventing the building of affordable and family apartments to keep only single family neighborhoods in the area.

Carston Curd will work to fight climate change, improve housing affordability, and expand transit access in Bothell. He is the best choice for Bothell City Council, Position 4.

Han Tran, an electrical engineer, is running for Northshore School Board, Director District 3 to replace David Cogan, who is not seeking re-election. Tran is an active community advocate, previously running for Bothell City Council in 2021 on a strong progressive platform, participating on the school district’s Ethnic Studies Work Team, and serving as a Washington Human Rights Commissioner.

As an immigrant and a working mother to Northshore district students, Tran wants to champion equity and inclusion, empower educators, and bring a holistic and progressive approach to addressing the district’s needs. She wants to work to close opportunity gaps by implementing targeted academic support, culturally responsive teaching, and accountability metrics. The rest of her campaign priorities are equally detailed and community-centric, and she has received an impressive list of progressive endorsements in this race.

Tran faces two challengers, Chris Cazares and Myriam Juritz, for the school district director seat. Chris Cazares is a member of the US Air Force and a lawyer who is running on a vague and thin platform based on the values of communication and representation. His campaign website lacks campaign information as of mid-July.

Myriam Juritz is a substitute teacher in the Northshore school district and she serves on the board of the Northshore Schools Foundation. Juritz has shared a campaign platform that emphasizes improving academic excellence and student health, both mental and physical. She is an immigrant and credits her upbringing in political unrest as motivating her to run for local government to ensure that community needs are met. However, her platform is not as detailed nor as progressive Tran’s.

Tran is the clear choice in this race and deserves your vote for Northshore School Board Director, District 3.