Introductory statement from MLT council incumbent Wright and challenger Richards

Mountlake Terrace City Council incumbent Kyoko Matsumoto Wright faces a challenge from fellow councilmember Seaun Richards in the Nov. 7 election.

The two are running for one of four Mountlake Terrace council positions on the ballot.

Richards is in the middle of his own four-year council term. A victory would give him a new four-year term and leave him in a position to help choose his replacement. A loss would leave him with two years remaining on his current term.

Wright and Richards recently sent these statements as an introduction to voters:

City of Mountlake Terrace Council Position 4, four-year term

Kyoko Matsumoto Wright

After almost 10 years on the Mountlake Terrace City Council, we worked hard to plan for light rail and a vibrant town center. Now it’s time to have the leadership to welcome the right economic development and housing choices we need. We also need to make sure we have a budget to maintain our current services, parks and support public safety. That includes updating our current capital projects. I am a team player and have been endorsed by fellow councilmembers Wahl, Smith, McCardle, Ryan, Sno. Co. council Ryan, Wright, Sullivan, Exec. Somers  Senators Hobbs, Palumbo, Chase, Liias and many more.

Seaun Richards

I am the owner/operator of Red Onion Burgers and president of the Cheeseburger Babies Foundation. As president of the Mountlake Terrace Senior Center, I negotiated the center from an 800 square foot to an 8,500 square foot location. As a councilmember I reached across the aisle and facilitated the $12.5 million police expansion and civic center currently on the ballot. Members of the current council have been on the council and/or planning commission for 12 to 20 years. Fresh ideas and new blood are needed on the Mountlake Terrace City Council — the gateway to Snohomish County. We need to bring light rail the right way.

Introductory statements from two Brier City Council candidates

Brier City Council incumbent Martin Krienke faces challenger Kevin Davis

for one of four Brier council positions on the Nov. 7 ballot. Krienke and Davis recently sent statements to introduce themselves to voters.  Here are their statements in the order that their names will appear on the November ballot and in the voters’ pamphlet:

City of Brier Council Position 2, four-year term

Martin Krienke

As a member of the city council I have worked with the mayor to acquire over $1.5 million in grant funds to purchase and improve our parks and open space, and have been involved in revising our city codes that has significantly reduced our exposure to outside legal threats. I have also actively participated in ensuring our larger lot size regulations remain.

I proudly have been a key contributor to helping establish trust and professionalism between the administration, council, and staff, which has created a well-functioning city government. I am proud to be endorsed by our mayor and city council. Elected as the mayor pro-tem for the last 10 years.

Kevin Davis

I chose to run for office for several reasons and believe that my commitment to this community, education and public service experience will be a benefit to Brier.

I was a student of Brier Middle School and graduate of Mountlake Terrace High School in 1990. I am an advocate for retaining our city’s police department.

We must continue to enforce existing codes that restrict lot sizes and evaluate ordinances that discourage neighborhood engagement.

I am fiscally conservative and would ensure that our resources are utilized to the benefit of the residents.

One topic that we must address is the impact of traffic through Brier due to development in adjacent cities.

–By Evan Smith
Evan Smith can be reached at schsmith@frontier.com.