LYNNWOOD — A long-time Snohomish County PUD commissioner is considering a run for the county executive’s job this fall.
Republican Kathy Vaughn said she wants to see poll results before she makes a decision. If Vaughn enters the race, she would face state Rep. Mike Hope, R-Lake Stevens, and the incumbent Democrat, Aaron Reardon.
Vaughn has run three successful countywide campaigns for the PUD post, which is non-partisan.
“It’s just an exploratory poll,” Vaughn said Tuesday. “I have thought about it and considered it. But it’s just an exploratory poll.”
Vaughn, 60, has served on the PUD commission since 1995. Her current term expires at the end of 2012.
She previously served as a Republican precinct committee officer. She owns a mortgage company, Goldmark Financial Corporation. In addition to experience in politics and the private sector, Vaughn said she has experience with unions, from her blue collar upbringing in Ballard and from her work as an administrator at the negotiating table.
The Snohomish County Republican Party has endorsed Hope and was not aware of a possible run by Vaughn, chairman Bill Cooper said.
“If she’s interested, I think she ought to be talking to us and this is the first I’ve heard of it,” Cooper said.
The county Democratic Party has yet to issue an official endorsement, but its chairman has good things to say about Reardon.
“He balanced the county budget without raising taxes and with minimal impact on workers,” Bill Phillips said.
The county executive oversees many of the county’s most important functions, including the planning department, public works and Paine Field. The job pays $147,099 per year.
Candidates officially enter the race only after filing paperwork with the county auditor in early June. The top two candidates from the August primary will advance to the general election on Nov. 8.
Reardon, 40, of Everett, is in his second term as county executive. He is eligible for one more term. Before being elected to his job, he served in the state House and Senate.
Hope, 35, is in his second term representing the state’s 44th Legislative District. He works as a Seattle police officer.
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465, nhaglund@heraldnet.com.
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