EVERETT — Two emerging camps among City Council members again had a split vote, this time on who would lead as council president for 2023.
Brenda Stonecipher was selected council president in a 4-3 peer vote over other nominee Paula Rhyne, who had support from Mary Fosse and Liz Vogeli. Judy Tuohy was selected vice president in a 4-3 vote where Rhyne was the other nominee.
The president helps decide the items in council meeting agendas and keeps order during the meeting.
Stonecipher and Tuohy are the council's two longest-serving members today. Stonecipher shared publicly that after 19 years on council she will not be running again this November. She has one of the two at-large elected positions which call for a citywide vote; the remaining five council seats are elected by geographic district.
Council members Ben Zarlingo and Don Schwab backed Stonecipher and Tuohy in part because of their experience.
Fosse said she nominated Rhyne because Rhyne comes prepared, establishes goals and has the acumen to implement plans.
Tuohy has nine years and was president in 2017 and 2020, while Stonecipher presided the prior two years plus in 2006.
Fosse said not giving a newer member a council leadership role today misses the opportunity to have them learn from an experienced colleague. Rhyne, Fosse, Zarlingo and Schwab all joined in 2022 through district elections.
Rhyne was also nominated for council vice president last year and lost to Tuohy under the same 4-3 split that was seen again last week.
Before Rhyne and Tuohy, Vogeli had nominated herself for council vice president but colleagues didn't second the nomination to have a vote.
Vogeli stated with disgust before the vice presidential vote: “Congratulations everybody, I know we haven’t voted yet, but congratulations."
Vogeli packed up and exited the council chambers mid-meeting when the decisions were complete. She told the Tribune she left because she was upset. She missed the Everett Transit presentation that came next in the agenda, but noted she had already heard this presentation at the city's Transportation Advisory Committee.
The split is not an archetypal conservative-liberal divide along political party lines. The two factions seem to be between methodical traditionalists versus bolder modernists on council.
Nearly the same division occurred a month ago on Vogeli's ordinance to mandate Project Labor Agreements on big city projects. Schwab voted with Vogeli, Fosse and Rhyne to make it 4-3 on the issue. Zarlingo, Stonecipher and Tuohy wanted to pump the brakes to study the ramifications of the mandate further before committing to it. Zarlingo introduced a late-move counter proposal that didn't contain the mandate.
The labor agreements involve negotiating wages and safety standards with labor organizations ahead of going to bid.
Mayor Cassie Franklin ultimately vetoed the council's ordinance a week later. Franklin said she supports using project labor agreements but opposes making them mandatory; so far, the city hasn't utilized any.
In related news
Former Councilmember Scott Bader, who ultimately didn’t run for re-election in the district elections of 2021 but wanted to continue serving, is preparing a council run for 2023.
Bader and Tuohy are the only two so far who have filed official campaign paperwork with the state Public Disclosure Commission. Bader filed in November; Tuohy last June. Both would be running for the at-large positions, as those are the only seats up for election this year.
The official candidate filing week is in May.
Councilmember Don Schwab and Mayor Cassie Franklin have filed for re-election in 2025.
Related
EVERETT — Mayor Cassie Franklin last week vetoed the council's mandate that the city use a Project Labor Agreement, which involves negotiating wages and safety standards with labor organizations ahead of going to bid, for all projects estimated to run above $5 million. Its supporters reacted.
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