MYNORTHWEST NEWS

A non-Seattle guide to mayoral races across the Puget Sound region

Aug 4, 2021, 11:56 AM | Updated: 11:57 am

drop box, mayoral...

A ballot drop box in Lynnwood, Washington. (Photo courtesy of Snohomish County)

(Photo courtesy of Snohomish County)

While arguably the highest-profile mayoral race in the Puget Sound area for the August primary election is the race for Seattle’s next mayor, there are a number of other cities electing a leader.

In Pierce County, voters are choosing a mayor in Bonney Lake, Buckley, Tacoma, and Eatonville. Everett, Lynnwood, and Snohomish are selecting mayors in Snohomish County.

Check local election results

Bonney Lake

Neil Johnson is the incumbent in Bonney Lake, and is running again in 2021. He’s currently in second place in early results with 34.65%, just behind Michael C. McCullough who is at 40.29%. Tom Watson is the third candidate in the primaries, currently sitting at 24.5% of early votes.

KIRO Radio listeners may recognize Johnson’s name from a proclamation he signed in June to ban vaccine passports and related segregation. The city council also voted in favor of the resolution.

McCullough has 30 years of government experience, according to his campaign website, and has worked as a prosecutor and public defender in his capacity as a government lawyer. Watson has served as a councilmember in Bonney Lake for 10 years.

Buckley

Leading in early results for Buckley’s mayor is Beau Burkett with 54.19% of the votes. Current Mayor Pat Johnson was elected to office in 2006 and is serving her fourth term, which expires on Dec. 31, 2021. She is not running for re-election.

Behind Burkett in the race for Buckley Mayor is Marvin Sundstrom (a current city councilmember) with 19.96% of the early results, Richard O’Neill with 18%, and Gabrielle Abbott with 7.49%.

Tacoma

Incumbent Victoria Woodards and Steve Haverly are leading in the race for Tacoma’s mayor in early primary election returns Tuesday, garnering 53.19% and 33.71% of the vote, respectively. Trailing behind Woodards and Haverly is Jamika Scott with 12.71% of the vote.

Woodards was first elected mayor in 2017. She served on Tacoma City Council from 2009 to 2016. She is a U.S. Army veteran with a background in public service. Haverly is a fourth generation Tacoma resident with a background in construction management.

Eatonville

The mayoral race in Eatonville is looking close in early results, remaining unclear as to who will make it on to the general election in November. Challenger David Baublits is leading both his opponents at 55.97% in early results.

Those opponents are incumbent Mayor Mike Schaub and Councilmember Bob Walter, tied at 22.01% of the vote in early results.

Everett

Incumbent Cassie Franklin is running away with the lead in Everett’s mayoral race, bringing in 76.26% of early results. In second is Steve Oss with 19.19%. Ron Wittock has 3.64%, but the Everett Herald says he announced in June that he was not campaigning and would support Oss.

Franklin took office in 2018, becoming the first woman elected as mayor of Everett. In the past year plus, Franklin spoke out about the departure of Boeing’s 787, saying it will be “deeply felt throughout the community.” She also was among local leaders who issued a stay-at-home directive early on in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lynnwood

In Lynnwood, Christine Frizzell has 45.18% in early primary results, leading against opponents Jim Smith (31.19%) and George Hurst (23.46%).

The current mayor of Lynnwood, Nicola Smith, is retiring, and has previously expressed her support for Frizzell to be next mayor.

All three candidates in the race currently serve on the Lynnwood City Council.

Snohomish

While it’s likely that incumbent John Kartak will make it to the general election after early results, he’s currently in second behind challenger Linda Redmon for the mayor of Snohomish.

City Council President Redmon has 52.89% of the vote, followed by Kartak with 42.26%, and Samuel F. King at 4.78%.

Earlier this year, Mayor Kartak joined the Jason Rantz Show on KTTH to discuss the increase in crime as it relates to COVID, as well as approaches to policing.

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A non-Seattle guide to mayoral races across the Puget Sound region