EVERETT — More than two dozen applicants from all corners of the city have so far applied for Everett’s council districting commission.
The count is 28 as of Wednesday, April 24. The application window closed April 30 after press time.
The nine-member commission’s role will be to set the boundary map used for district elections. They might hire “Districting Master” specialist consultant to assist with the work.
The city is restructuring its City Council elections starting in 2021. Five seats will be won in elections within geographic districts and two seats will be at-large, citywide elections. Voters last fall approved the change.
Among applicants, north, central and south Everett are all represented fairly evenly: Ten applicants are north Everett neighborhoods, 10 are from central Everett neighborhoods and seven are from south Everett, from information provided by the city.
The City Council will receive a dossier of all the applicants for its May 1 meeting this week, and then make nominations at its May 15 meeting. Final selections will be on May 29.
The City Council will appoint seven of the commissioner seats, Mayor Cassie Franklin appoints one, and the commissioners themselves pick their ninth colleague when
the group begins meeting this summer.
Their map work should conclude after the 2020 Census.
The City Council is not allowed to alter the map.
2021 will be the first election by district. Candidates can run for 4-year terms in positions 1 through 5, representing the new districts. In 2023, there will be elections for positions 6 and 7 for four-year, at-large terms.
In 2019, there will be elections for positions 4 and 5 (two-year, at-large terms) and for positions 6 and 7 (four-year, at-large terms).
Currently, the council members by position are:
Position 1: Paul Roberts of the Northwest Neighborhood;
Position 2: Jeff Moore of the Silver Lake Neighborhood;
Position 3: Scott Murphy of the Northwest Neighborhood;
Position 4: Liz Vogeli of the Westmont Neighborhood;
Position 5: Scott Bader of the Riverside Neighborhood;
Position 6: Brenda Stonecipher of the Northwest Neighborhood; and
Position 7: Judy Tuohy of the Northwest Neighborhood.
The mayor’s position is an at-large position.
This year, Bader is running for re-election and has two challengers who have formally filed campaign finance paperwork with the state: Jonathan Peebles and Joseph Erikson.
Tuohy and Vogeli are also running for council re-election. Vogeli is up for election again because the race she won last year was a one-year term. It was to finish off Mayor Franklin’s term as a council member
as Franklin was elected mayor in 2017.
Seattle implemented a 7-2 district system in 2015. Other cities that use districts include Yakima and Spokane.
When Yakima introduced districts in 2015, two Latinos won their districts, giving the city its first Latino council members in its history, The Seattle Times reported.
