Ballots for the Nov. 5 general elections should begin arriving in voters’ mailboxes later this week as residents of Mountlake Terrace and Brier will have decisions to make concerning statewide initiatives and advisory votes, a county council position, city council and mayoral posts, and an Edmonds School District Director seat.

To be eligible for tabulation, a voter’s marked ballot must be dropped in a county election drop box or have a USPS postmark on it by Nov. 5.
South Snohomish County residents will have a new county councilmember as a result of the general election; the current office holder of County Council District 4, Dave Gossett, is ineligible to run due to a term limit law. Former Mill Creek Mayor Terry Ryan is facing Mountlake Terrace resident Robert Reedy for the post.

In the City of Brier, four city council incumbents are running unopposed in their bids to continue in their positions, while incumbent Mayor Bob Colinas is being challenged by Adam Gregorich.

Voters in Mountlake Terrace will see five city council positions on their ballot; current councilmembers Rick Ryan, Position 1, and Jerry Smith, Position 2, are running unopposed. For Position 3, Stephen Barnes is challenging incumbent Doug McCardle; for Position 4, Wanda Clarke-Morin is running against incumbent Kyoko Wright; and in a race to fill the remaining two-years in the current term of Position 5, Leonard French is facing Bryan Wahl, who has served in the post for just over a year.

Local voters will also decide an Edmonds School District Director post; District 4 incumbent Director Susan Phillips is facing a challenge from Leti Solis. Incumbent Ann McMurray is running unopposed in her quest to be re-elected to the District 2 Director seat.

The Snohomish County Elections and Voter Registration Division offers plenty of help online to voters throughout the county. You can see a quick guide to voting procedures here; and an online voters guide to the Nov. 5 general election is here.

— By Doug Petrowski