Dave Somers prepares for hard fight to defend his council seat

June 22, 3:50 PMSnohomish County Progressive ExaminerChad Shue

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A couple of weeks agoI wrote about the trio of Republican challengers for Dave Somers' seat on the Snohomish County Council. I ended my piece with a nod and a wink to a potential stealth campaign lurking in the shadows. A week later I was pleased to see that Jerry Cornfield was thinking along those same lines; writing in his "Petri Dish" about the possibility of land developer, Dave Barnett funding a last minute series of negative mailers intended to distort the facts and mislead voters, in the hopes of costing Somers the election. In fact Somers claims that Barnett has pledged to spend up to $2.5 Million to unseat him. The claim would seem all the more credible after reading a report by Seattle Times reporter Lynn Thompson from October of last year. Writing about Barnett's involvement in building a tribal casino in Clark County she writes:

"In 2005, Barnett, his former wife and his Seattle business donated $100,000 to a political-action committee (PAC) to help re-elect a Democrat to the Clark County Council, according to state Public Disclosure Commission records. The Republican challenger in the race, Tom Mielke, was an outspoken opponent of the casino.

Mielke said Barnett confronted him at a Vancouver City Council meeting before the election and said he was prepared to spend "five figures" to defeat him."

And apparently financial intimidation isn't Barnett's only tool. Again from Lynn Thompson,

"Clark County court records also indicate that Barnett threatened the chairwoman of a local citizens group opposing the casino. Kamie Biehl was granted a protection order against Barnett in February 2006. She said Barnett called her at 6 a.m. and said he would expose her as an alcoholic and her 15-year-old son as a drug user if she didn't immediately stop opposing the proposed casino.

Barnett told The Vancouver Columbian newspaper, "I would never do anything of that sort."

But Biehl had taped the conversation. A reporter for The Daily News, in Longview, listened to the tape and confirmed that it was Barnett's voice and phone number. The Daily News' story about the incident ran on Feb. 16, 2006. A Clark County District Court commissioner granted a one-year protection order based on Biehl's allegations."

Dave Barnett - willing to spend $2.5 million?

Finally, as if Somers didn't face enough of a challenge from the Republicans and an overzealous developer, persistant rumors (albeit coming from "unnamed sources") continue to circulate that some in his own party actually encouraged one of the challengers to his seat. For instance, Cornfield writing in his regular weekly column on June 14th dropped this little tidbit into the middle of a larger piece on Somers' current tenure on the council,

"Republicans and some Democrats convinced of Somers' vulnerability have prodded (Lake Stevens Mayor, Vern) Little for months to get into the race."

I might have overlooked the comment except that a reader sent me to a post that came out two days later on the right-wing blog, "Red County." Blogger, Bob Clark, writing on the Snohomish County Council races offered this at the end of his take on the 5th district contest:

"Here is the shocker: I am led to believe from MANY sources that Democratic County Executive Aaron Reardon even suggested INDIRECTLY that Vern Little run, but as a DEMOCRAT.  This is rumor and if I am wrong about this, I will be happy to retract, but I got this from an impeccable source."

While it is no secret that Reardon and Somers did experience some tension during Somer's stint as council Chair and Reardon did support Somers' 2005 Democratic primary challenger, current 44th LD State Senator, Steve Hobbs, I decided to put the question directly to the County Exec. Reardon's answer was short and to the point:

"As for your question...No truth to it."

Aaron Reardon; 'not involved in Somers challenge'

Meanwhile, Somer's demeanor is calm and his response remains the same as when I first asked about the challengers facing him,

"I have been proud to serve the people of the 5th county council district and Snohomish County for two terms now. Over that time I have worked hard to ensure the citizens and property owners have a safe environment in which to live, work, and raise their children. I have been resolute in my commitment to responsible growth management and have done my best to be a good steward of our land and waterways. I look forward to talking with my constituents about my accomplishments and their concerns over the course of the campaign."

Dave Somers, incumbent

Peace,
Chad Shue