Yellow Pages
Mount Vernon City Council Ward No. 2: Gary Molenaar vs. John Cheney
Cheney has rendered good service to the city during his nearly 25 years on the City Council. But basing his quest for a seventh term on his wish to see current projects through suggests that even one of his intellect can grow stale with time.
Molenaar is a relatively new face, although he has served on the planning commission since 2007. Voters in Ward 2 may want to give Molenaar a chance to show that he can bring new energy to the council.
Mount Vernon City Council Ward No. 1: Ken Quam vs. Kathy Combs
Combs is completing her 12th year on the council. She says she wants a fourth term to see some projects through to completion. It is insufficient reason to return her to office. The projects will be completed with or without her presence on the council.
Quam’s desire to “give back to the community” is vague and lacking in substance. But, of the two, he at least offers the potential for new blood on a council that has become stale and ingrown with time.
Mount Vernon City Council, at-large: Doris Brevoort vs. Dale Ragan
There is a lot to like about Brevoort, who took on Mayor Bud Norris in 2007 as a write-in candidate, winning nearly 34 percent of the vote. Since then, she has plunged herself into downtown preservation and spoken out on other issues as well. The city is fortunate to have such an engaged citizen.
Assuming the citywide council position in 2002, Ragan, the incumbent, has been one of the leading penny-pinchers among his colleagues.
While fiscal restraint is always important in local government, a vision for what the city should become is also needed. The city would be well served by either candidate, but Ragan deserves another term and an opportunity to show a more rounded approach to the city’s needs.
Editorials reflect the consensus opinion of the editorial board and are written by its members: Publisher L. Stedem Wood and newsroom editors Dick Clever and Colette Weeks. Signed columns reflect the authors’ viewpoints.
Read more local news in the Skagit Valley Herald and the Anacortes American, or read it online in the E-edition
