Four Mountlake Terrace city councilmembers recited their oaths of office during a swearing-in ceremony at the Jan. 4 city council meeting. City Clerk Jennifer Joki administered the oaths.
Councilmembers Bryan Wahl, Laura Sonmore and Erin Murray were reelected to their respective council seats during the Nov. 7 general election, while Rory Paine-Donovan was elected to fill the seat he was appointed to in January 2023.
Councilmembers chose Paine-Donovan over 10 other applicants for the Position 3 seat left vacant by the resignation of Doug McCardle.
When not serving the City of Mountlake Terrace, Paine-Donovan is a legislative liaison for the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner. He was previously a Mountlake Terrace planning commissioner.
Councilmember Murray was first elected in November 2020, filling the Position 7 seat vacated by Seaun Richards, who did not seek reelection. She ran unopposed for the seat in her previous and current election bids.
Murray is the vice president of people operations for the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce.
Councilmember Wahl, appointed to his council seat in 2012, ran unopposed for Position 5 in 2023. He has served as mayor pro tem since 2022.
Wahl is the president of WAHL Strategies, which provides government affairs programs that offer services and resources for policy, political affairs and public advocacy.
Councilmember Sonmore, the longest-tenured councilmember, was appointed to the city council in 2000 and elected for the remainder of the term in 2001. She was reelected in 2003, 2007, 2011, and 2015.
Her time on the city council is surpassed by her 27 years at Boeing’s regulatory administration.
The councilmembers’ terms expire on Dec. 31, 2027.
Election of city mayor and mayor pro tem.
Elections for mayor and mayor pro tem also were held during the Jan. 4 meeting with no position shifts.
Councilmember Kyoko Matsumoto Wright was nominated and received unanimous council support to retain the position of mayor. She was appointed to the city council in January 2008 and has been reelected since. Wright served as mayor pro tem and filled the position of mayor after the unexpected death of Mayor Jerry Smith in 2018. Councilmembers elected her to continue as mayor in both 2020 and 2022.
Matsumoto Wright works as a Realtor at Coldwell Banker Bain. She is past president of the Snohomish County Camano Association of Realtors (SCCAR).
Councilmembers also unanimously voted to retain Wahl as the mayor pro tem. Wahl was appointed to the Mountlake Terrace City Council in 2012 and was elected in 2013.
The elections are held biennially in even-numbered years during the first meeting of the newly elected city council. The next election will be in 2026.
Appointments to intergovernmental boards
City councilmembers also represent Mountlake Terrace on city, county and regional boards and committees. Typically, the council shares those responsibilities to accommodate work schedules and outside commitments.
Because the dates and times of these assignments may conflict with councilmembers’ other obligations, the council reviews and adjusts appointments to these boards and commissions at the beginning of each calendar year.
The city council’s past practice has been making selections based on seniority, with each councilmember making one board/commission selection in sequence.
The current board and committee selections are:
– Arts Advisory Commission (1-Year Term): Rick Ryan
– Diversity Equity & Inclusion Commission (1-Year Term): Erin Murray
– Finance Committee (1-Year Term): 1: Laura Sonmore 2: Bryan Wahl
– LEOFF 1 Disability Board (2-Year Term – Staggered Years): 1. Laura Sonmore (1/12/23)
- Rick Ryan (12/31/2022)
– Recreation and Park Advisory Commission (1-Year Term): Laura Sonmore
– Alliance for Housing Affordability (AHA) Board (1-Year Term): Primary: Kyoko Matsumoto Wright
Alt: Rory Paine-Donovan
– Lake Ballinger/McAleer Creek Watershed Forum (1-Year Term): Primary: Rory Paine-Donovan
Alt: Steve Woodard
– SeaShore Transportation Forum (1-Year Term): Primary: Erin Murray
Alt: Kyoko Matsumoto Wright
– Snohomish County Tomorrow Steering Committee (1-Year Term): Primary: Bryan Wahl
Alt: Steve Woodard
The positions will be voted on at the Jan. 18 council meeting.
Korean Day
In other business, the City of Mountlake Terrace proclaimed Jan. 13 Korean American Day.
Mayor Matsumoto Wright read from the proclamation, stating, “Korean Americans are an integral part of our community with contributions observed in all facets of American life, from politics to industry, entrepreneurship to volunteerism, the arts and education.”
The Jan. 13 date was chosen to honor the treaty of peace, friendship and commerce the U.S. signed with Korea in 1882, which allowed for diplomatic relations.
The proclamation states that over a million Koreans have immigrated to the U.S. since 1903, and the City of Mountlake Terrace is home to many community members of Korean heritage.
Accepting the certificate of proclamation were Washington State 32nd District Rep. Cindy Ryu, Washington State Korean American Day Celebration Foundation Chairperson Soona Kim and former Chairperson Yun Hong.
“On behalf of the Korean community, we thank you, mayor and councilmembers, for this proclamation,” Hong said.
City Manager report
During his report to the city council, City Manager Jeff Niten said the city is changing its description of code violations from code enforcement to code compliance. The change in wording reflects the change in ownership of responsibility from the Mountlake Terrace Police Department to the city’s Community and Economic Development Department.
Niten said the change will take effect Feb. 5.
Public comment, council liaison report and new business
During the new business section of the meeting, Mountlake Terrace resident Saboora Deen asked the city council to make a proclamation supporting a ceasefire between Hamas and Israeli forces.
Also during new business, Niten explained that the city is adopting a decision-tree process for proclamations to help guide future proclamations.
During the city council liaison report, Councilmember Woodard thanked My Neighborhood News Network’s President and CEO Teresa Wippel for connecting a family with available food.
“We were able to connect them with one of the partners that we learned about, which is Snohomish County Mutual Aid,” Woodard said. “They were able to take the food and get that to the family.”
He further explained that Snohomish County Mutual Aid set up a GoFundMe for the family that received the food.
Councilmembers Sonmore and Woodard addressed questions they had received about the Safe Routes to Schools update for 216th Street Southwest and 48th Avenue West.
The project is still on schedule for summer 2024 and will reconstruct the intersection, mark three crosswalks, build missing sections of sidewalks, construct ADA-compliant curb ramps, and install pedestrian-activated beacons to alert drivers to crossings.
While that section of 216th Street is under construction, the city will upgrade the underground utilities to replace decades-old infrastructure.
Funding comes from a federal grant, pandemic recovery dollars, and city utility and construction funds, supported by a loan from the Snohomish County Public Works Assistance Fund.
Learn more about the Safe Routes to School progress here.
The council’s next meeting is Thursday, Jan. 11. It will begin at 7 p.m. in Mountlake Terrace City Hall, 23204 58th Ave. W., Mountlake Terrace. To attend the meeting online, visit zoom.us/join and enter meeting ID 810 1113 9518; no passcode is needed.
To listen via telephone, call 1-253-215-8782 and enter the same meeting ID.
You also can view livestreamed meetings and past video recordings at www.youtube.com/cityofmlt.
You can see the complete agenda here.
— By Rick Sinnett
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