By Doug Petrowski

After the first two days of filing, eight of the nine incumbents in Mountlake Terrace and Brier Mayor and City Council positions have completed their paperwork to run for re-election this fall. No one has filed to challenge the eight incumbents yet.

In Mountlake Terrace, Mayor Jerry Smith has filed to run for a third term in his current Council Position 2 seat. Other councilmembers officially attempting a run at re-election are Rick Ryan (Council Position 1), Doug McCardle (Position 3) and Bryan Wahl (Position 5). Kyoko Matsumoto Wright, the current council member in Position #4, has yet to file this week for the fall ballot.

In Brier, Bob Colinas has filed to run for Mayor again; Colinas ran unopposed for the post in 2009. The four Brier council members who see their positions on the fall ballot have all filed to seek re-election: Marc Olson (Position 1), Martin Krienke (Position 2), Michael Gallagher (Position 3) and John Joplin (At-Large Position).

Potential candidates have until 4 p.m. Friday to file o-line for any position on the fall ballot, or until 5 p.m. Friday to file in person at the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office.

For Mountlake Terrace Councilmember Bryan Wahl, this election will be his first as he was appointed to his current seat in September 2012 to fill a vacancy left by former Councilmember Michelle Robles.

“I’m running to retain my seat on the City Council because we must keep moving forward,” Wahl announced earlier this week. “Having been involved with establishing our vision for the community, I feel it is important for the council to keep moving forward with a focused approach to implementing our plan and taking the necessary steps to achieve the vision we set forth for our community.”
Before his appointment to the city council, Wahl had served 14 years on the city’s Planning Commission.

Wahl sees creating economic vitality in the city as one of his priorities while in office. “We must maintain our efforts to attract business and economic development.” Wahl said. “By carefully setting our tax and fiscal policy to direct resources, and fine-tuning our comprehensive plan and development regulations, it is important for our city to plan for sufficient housing and jobs to accommodate growth, while balancing the city’s need for infrastructure and economic development with the high quality of life, standard of living, and incredible environment and park system we enjoy in Mountlake Terrace.”