Snohomish executive race had a contentious history behind it

The race for Snohomish County Executive was perhaps watched more closely this time around than in previous elections. That could be because the two men vying for the job have a history of contention claiming headlines over the past few years.

But, in the end, Dave Somers will be the next Snohomish County Executive, ousting John Lovick. Lovick conceded defeat, the Everett Daily Herald reports.

Somers and Lovick are listed as preferring the Democratic Party. Despite Lovick having an incumbent advantage, Somers came out ahead in early ballot counts with 57 percent of the vote, by a difference of more than 10,000 votes.

Somers credits his ability to sit down and talk with diverse, often opposing parties.

“When I first came into office, I was opposed heavily by the development community because of my environmental background … but they supported me last time,” Somers told KIRO Radio’s Jason Rantz, noting that the area is slated to experience considerable growth in the next two decades. He wants to manage the new development with the environment in mind.

His approach was favored by various interest groups during his campaign.

“In the end, I had builders supporting me and the environment coalition, Republicans and Democrats,” he said.

Despite both receiving their share of support, it was difficult to ignore the contentious history between the two candidates. Somers, a current member of the county council, and Lovick have had a strained working relationship &#8212 something Rantz noted while speaking with Somers.

“Why exactly did the campaign get so especially nasty?” Rantz asked.

“I don’t think it got especially nasty. We were really talking about the challenges we face in the county with our budget and the courthouse,” Somers responded. “We have differences of opinion on real issues we’re facing. And I think I was able to put together a broad coalition of support.”

Though Somers wouldn’t call the campaigns nasty, it certainly was a tense race. When Lovick first came into office, Somers called him out over pay raises he gave certain top county officials.

“The problems started on day one with the raises John granted to top staff,” Somers recalled. “I really thought that was inappropriate, we couldn’t’ afford it, and it was against county code. I went to John and tried to correct it, gave him an easy path out and he didn’t take it. So the problems started very early on.”

“There was a number of management issues and John really was not able to talk about his ideas on how to solve those, frankly, he just wanted to ignore them and say everything was fine,” he said of the campaigns.

Eventually, drama over the county’s courthouse would also become an issue that grew the divide between Lovick, Somers, and even others on the county council. Somers thinks that was one factor that played a role with voters, he said.

“The budget, financial security and stability of the county is what we talked about the most and resonated with the public,” Somers said. “But frankly, I think the courthouse project also weighed heavily; it was something on people’s minds.”

And then there was the time Lovick publicly called Somers a racist. In short, Somers made an inside joke with local tribal leaders, which Lovick felt was racist against Native Americans. It may, however, been a matter of context and knowledge of tribal culture, which Somers had after working for the tribes a number of years.

“That was last spring, and it was a shock to me because I had worked for the tribes for many, many years and I was reciting a story,” Somers said of the controversy. “That was before I even decided I was going to run. I think John saw me as a potential opponent, and really was going after me to forestall that.”

Somers said he will focus on finishing his duties as a council member, then concentrate on the courthouse issue, while also working to restructure the county government.

“We know we have to change, and that means people are ready for change and that’s what I’m going to be working on,” he said.