LYNNWOOD, Wash., June 29, 2023—The sun was out, the live music was set, and the beer and barbecue kept flowing at Jim Smith’s campaign kickoff event on Wednesday, June 28, at Lynnwood’s Moonshine Barbecue that was attended by just over 60 residents.
Jim Smith announced his bid to retain his Lynnwood City Council Position #4 seat in May holding safety and wellbeing for his community as his platform’s number one priority. Through his 27 years of experience, he has created many Lynnwood organizations and events such as the Lynnwood Christmas Tree Lighting and Celebration and the Lynnwood 4th of July Celebration. He was also chairman of Lynnwood’s Festival for four years.
Smith has also served on the Snohomish County Board of Health for over a decade, was Chairman of the Board, and served of the LEOFF-1 Disability Board for over 12 years. He is the founder and past president of the Lynnwood Chamber as well as State President of the Washington Pilot’s Association.
Separate to politics, Smith has owned a local corporation for decades and produced many events at the Seattle Center, Paramount and other venues. Jim is married to Sherry and has four adult daughters as well as two grandchildren. Their newest addition to their family is their little Shiatsu puppy named Lulu who he said “thinks I’m her dad and Sherry is her mom and I’m not telling her otherwise.”
“I believe we need to prioritize our families as well as our senior citizens who have given so much to all of us. I will also continue the fight to bring down many of our unnecessary taxes by pushing to reduce wasteful spending,” said Smith. “Our campaign is a campaign of the people. As an elected official, councilmembers need to understand that we serve all our residents and our stakeholders. We need to continually engage with the people of Lynnwood and address their needs.”
At Wednesday evening’s event, supporters ushered into a sunlit backyard patio, enjoyed trays of brisket and pulled pork, paired with ice cold beer while Smith picked up a guitar and sang with his band.
Prior to the picking up the guitar, Smith was joined by Snohomish County Councilman Nate Nehring, and fellow Lynnwood City Councilman Patrick Decker at the podium to share some opening remarks.
“We have talked so much about some of the problems we’ve had in Lynnwood, some of the challenges. We can overcome them if we keep, not only me on the council but keep Patrick Decker on the council, and get other people that are thinking what’s best for you all,” said Smith during his opening remarks Wednesday.
Smith holds public safety, fiscal responsibility (lowering taxes), decongesting traffic, growing and developing the economy, and tackling the homeless crises as his focus going into his campaign stating “please don’t Seattle our Lynnwood” referring to rising costs of living in Seattle and its related issues of homelessness.
In addition to his platform, Smith has committed to a no plastic campaign meaning he is refusing to use any campaign signs as a commitment to keeping our streets clean of clutter. Each plastic campaign sign is equal to about 480 plastic straws, he said, and refusing to use them keeps Lynnwood’s streets clean and out of the city’s landfills.
“I’m proud to endorse Jim Smith for Lynnwood City Council. I think Jim is a proven community leader and his experience is what Lynnwood needs. He’s a steady hand and focused on common sense issues that are important to Lynnwood including public safety, jobs, and cleaning up the streets,” Snohomish County Councilman Nate Nehring told the Lynnwood Times. “It’s an honor to support Jim and I look forward to seeing him be reelected to the Lynnwood City Council.”
Jim was born in Seattle, graduated from Edmonds High School, and has two bachelor’s degrees from CWU: Business Administration and Law & Justice/Pre-law. He is happily married to Sherry, has four adult daughters and, two grandchildren. He and his wife live in the Lynndale area of Lynnwood.
To learn more about the Jim Smith campaign, visit ww.electjimsmith.com.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
