EVERETT — The Snohomish County Council chose a staffer from Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen’s Everett office Monday to be the county’s ombudsman.
Jill McKinnie has spent most her career of three-plus decades handling constituent outreach for Larsen and other congressional Democrats. She’s expected to start her new role at the county in late April.
“My vision for the office is to be a very energetic advocate on behalf of the citizens,” McKinnie said Monday.
For her, that means making sure that people feel valued when they come to her office for help. Part of her job is recommending better ways for the county to do business “as I come across them.”
The job has been vacant since Jan. 1.
The council voted 3-1 for McKinnie’s appointment. Her term is two years.
She was one of two candidates county Executive John Lovick nominated. The other was James Krider, a Republican who served two terms as the county’s prosecuting attorney, from 1995 to 2002. Both sat for interviews with the County Council last week.
Councilman Ken Klein, the only Republican on the council, cast the “no” vote. His objection was the process, not the nominees.
Klein said he was disappointed that neither ombudsman candidate had current and extensive knowledge of working in Snohomish County — or any other county government. Both also come from partisan Democratic or Republican backgrounds, he noted.
“If this is the way that this position is going to be managed, I don’t think this position is needed at all,” Klein said.
Lovick created the ombudsman’s office as part of the 2014 county budget. The executive, a Democrat, appointed former Republican County Councilman John Koster as the first person in the job. Last year, Koster fielded 133 complaints and inquiries. The largest bloc, 52, involved the planning department, including land-use and code-enforcement issues. Law enforcement, public works and human services also were common subjects of complaints.
Koster spent much of the inaugural year drafting rules for the new office. Following the Oso mudslide, he temporarily shifted his duties to focus on helping people navigate assistance programs.
In December, Koster failed to win reappointment. He needed support from three of five council members to stay on, but only received the support of two. Lovick recommended against Koster’s reappointment.
McKinnie grew up mostly in north Marysville. She also has lived in Arlington and Everett, her current home.
Before going to work as Larsen’s district director in 2001, she worked for U.S. Sen. Patty Murray as well as U.S. Reps. Al Swift and Norm Dicks.
While she’s been employed by Democrats, “The work I’ve done in the district offices has been totally nonpartisan,” she said.
Her salary will be $105,332.
During interviews last week, Councilman Terry Ryan described the office as the Switzerland of county government — neutral ground surrounded by elected officials and an array of departments, which may become the focus of scrutiny.
McKinnie said she took Ryan’s comments to heart.
“I view it as working for the people of Snohomish County,” she said. “They are my bosses, and I will be Switzerland.”
Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.
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