HeraldNet: Somers' toughest foe may not be on the ballot



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The Petri Dish

June 15, 2009

Somers' toughest foe may not be on the ballot

Posted at 9:52 am by Jerry Cornfield

Democratic Snohomish County Councilman Dave Somers has a tough re-election on his hands.

He's got three Republican opponents. He's trying to win another term in the midst of a tough economy. History shows voters in his district don't re-elect their leaders that often.

And then there's the wild card - developer Dave Barnett.

I wrote about the race Sunday looking at whether Somers has changed the way he wears his political stripes as well as who is his opposition.

(An update on the column. I mention well known Republican Hank Robinette is backing Somers. I didn't mention it is primarily because Somers supports commercial air service at Paine Field - a big issue for Robinette.)

I ended the column where some said I should begin - with Barnett. He's the guy who wants to build a mini-city, AKA fully contained community, near Lake Roesiger and Somers is dead-set against it.

Last year, Barnett spent tens of thousands on dollars to send six mailers into Somers' council district. He intended to make the FCCs sound good and Somers to sound like a pro-sprawl, anti-jobs, anti-affordable housing kind of dude. If Barnett was willing to do that in a non-election year, who knows what he might be willing to do later this year. A few more mailers could affect the outcome.

Here's what I said after the third mailer went out.

Late last year, the County Council did impose a moratorium on FCCS. The prohibition will soon expire, setting the stage perhaps for another round of brawling.

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