Top concerns in Monroe council race: Public safety, utilities

The election for Monroe’s at-large council seat gives voters a choice between Kurt Goering, a six-year incumbent and Daniel Williams, making his first bid for public office.

Goering said that even though he has spent six years on the council, he would look forward to serving another two years in public office.

The city is paying off its debt and housing and business development in the city is outpacing other nearby cities. “We’ve created a culture where it’s attractive for people to come,” he said. “There’s a buzz about the town now.”

Williams said he decided to run because, after following events at weekly council meetings over the years, he became disappointed with what he called the attitude and actions taken by some council members.

“This, coupled with my interest in government and its processes, motivated me to take action,” he said. “My goal is to restore the public’s confidence in their government.”

Goering said that the arrival of Walmart in the city next year shouldn’t affect the businesses in the city’s traditional downtown area.

“People in this town love to shop local,” he said. Walmart’s opening could draw people to Monroe and bring more people downtown, Goering said.

Goering said that residents’ opposition to red light cameras has been overwhelming and the city needs to look for alternatives to improve safety in school zones, such as a pedestrian overpass in the city’s busiest intersection.

“If we’re talking about safety, whatever it costs, let’s figure out how we can do that,” he said.

Williams said residents have shown their opposition to red light cameras but said ways still need to be found to improve safety. “We do have a lot of speeding in school zones,” he said. “We have to do whatever we can for safety.”

Goering said the biggest concern he’s heard from voters is over increasing utility costs, caused in part by the costs of renovating the city’s waster water treatment plant. “As city residents, each one of us bears the burden of those kinds of improvements,” he said.

If elected, Williams said he would like to work on building stronger relationships between Monroe, the county and other area cities.

He said supporting public safety is the issue he feels most strongly about. “We need to do what we can to help the police department and make sure they have the resources to do their daily jobs,” he said.

Sharon Salyer: 425-339-3486; salyer@heraldnet.com.

Meet the candidates

The job: At stake is a two-year term for the at-large post on the City Council, which oversees the running of the city and guides its policies.

Council members are paid $100 per meeting with a maximum of eight per month. They’re also compensated $100 for each four-hour session of the council’s retreat with a limit of $300 per retreat.

Kurt Goering

Age: 44

Experience: Works as a software architect for AT&T. Six years as a Monroe City Council member. Twenty-two years of experience as an information technology business manager, software designer and background in urban planning and cartography.

Website: www.KurtGoering.com

Daniel Williams

Age: 40

Experience: Army veteran who worked in avionics mechanics. Now is a stay-at-home dad caring for his autistic son. Bachelors of science degree in finance from Penn State University.

Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Daniel-Williams-For-City-CouncilMonroe/129345980600262

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Alex Hanson looks over sections of the Herald and sets the ink on Wednesday, March 30, 2022 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Black Press, publisher of Everett’s Daily Herald, is sold

The new owners include two Canadian private investment firms and a media company based in the southern United States.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.