LYNNWOOD—Diodato “Dio” Boucsieguez, candidate for Lynnwood City Council Position 1, is committed to not being a rubber stamp for any new tax increases. His priorities are budget and growth management, trust and transparency, public safety, and fostering an arts and entertainment culture for the city.
Boucsieguez felt compelled to run for Lynnwood City Council because he feels he “has a duty” to the city. Having called Lynnwood home for the last 10 years, Boucsieguez shared that he has seen the city change (mostly for the better) drastically. He is running for City Council to be a part of that positive change.
Born in Tacoma, Boucsieguez moved to California at a young age where he lived for seven years. In 2003, he and his family then moved back to Washington, living in the Tri-Cities and Vancouver, respectively. He moved to Lynnwood in 2015 to attend the University of Washington where he graduated with a triple major in History, Political Science, and Journalism.
“My favorite thing about Lynnwood is the view,” said Boucsieguez. “One day I was driving to the Edmonds Waterfront on a clear sunny day and saw the mountains and I thought ‘golly what a beautiful sight.’ I thought I’m literally blessed to live in a city that allows me to have this view, and I said to myself it’s too bad there’s some in power that I think should not be in power who are contributing to driving this city into the ground. I want to be a part of positive change for the better.”
By “driving the city into the ground,” Boucsieguez specifically mentioned the recent 52% property tax increase which he said was “well intentioned” but particularly affects seniors and working-class families.
“I believe it could possibly lead to a population exodus, and I certainly don’t want that to happen. I want people in Lynnwood to thrive and survive,” said Boucsieguez.
Boucsieguez believes that Lynnwood, at its core, is a blue-collar community. He wants to be able to maintain its traditional neighborhood aspect that he fell in love with when he and his family first moved here ten years ago. At the same time, he continued, the city needs to adjust for growth. He is proposing to do this by maintaining single family zoning to incentivize home ownership, while also zoning 196th and Highway 99 for condos and apartments to allow for low-income housing options and absorb a potential population boom.
“One thing a lot of people don’t think about when it comes to increased population is the sewage and wastewater systems. I also want to work closely with our Public Works Director to ensure that city facilities are prepared for population growth,” said Boucsieguez.
As far as economic development, Boucsieguez has an idea of creating, what he calls, “economic opportunity zones” within the city that could attract new businesses to Lynnwood. In these proposed zones, which he is suggesting could be along Highway 99, the city would offer a sales tax deferral to allow businesses to delay paying taxes associated with new construction. This would apply to new businesses and new housing.
“It’s ensuring that Lynnwood stays affordable. I want to make sure that those who are intercity or working class can afford to live here, for one, and can afford to shop here,” said Boucsieguez.
If elected, one of the first things Boucsieguez wants to request of his colleagues is to conduct a fiscal and process audit on City Administration to make sure the city is operating as effectively and efficiently as possible. This audit would be conducted by a third party and its findings would guide the course of budgetary spendings actions in the future.
“I just want to make sure that we’re spending taxpayer’s money as effectively as possible,” said Boucsieguez. “I want to rebuild the public trust in the City Council. I want to make sure that we are held accountable to Lynnwood residents.”
The first step in rebuilding trust, he added, is recodifying the City Code of Ethics to give the Lynnwood City Council “more teeth,” to hold members more accountable, as well as streamlining the city’s public records process.
Boucsieguez believes a City Council position is like other workplaces in that you can’t get anything done without “fostering relationships,” to “trust your colleagues.”
“There’s always going to be disagreements but it’s all about finding middle ground so that we can move forward as a city. The last thing I want is there to be deadlock on the City Council and for nothing to get done,” said Boucsieguez.
As a singer/songwriter/guitarist, Boucsieguez also values the arts and would love to see Lynnwood expand its Arts and Culture with more music/concert venues, clubs, comedy clubs, piano bars, and so on – which would make Lynnwood more of a live, work, play environment, a destination city, as well as an opportunity to grow its tax revenue.
“It’s high time, particularly as a growing city, to have those entertainment options for residents so that they don’t have to leave the city to have a good time,” said Boucsieguez.
Regarding public safety, Boucsieguez wants to continue supporting the Lynnwood Police, the Municipal Courts, and its regional public safety partnerships. He wants to restore the School Resource Officers and embedded social workers in the Lynnwood PD to work with people suffering from substance abuse disorder or mental health crises.
Boucsieguez is endorsed by Washington State Representative and County Councilman Sam Low, Mukilteo Mayor Joe Marine, County Councilman Nate Nehring, former Lynnwood Mayor Tina Roberts-Martinez, Lynnwood City Councilman Patrick Decker, former Lynnwood City Councilwoman Shannon Sessions, and the UFCW3000 Union.
“Community members trust me, union trust me, and I’m asking for your vote and I’m asking you to trust me to get the job done,” said Boucsieguez.
When Boucsieguez is not running for Lynnwood City Council he works at QFC, where he manages the cheese department, and enjoys building Lego sets, playing music/singing karaoke, spending time with family, working out, and visiting parks. As a first-generation Mexican American, he is also incredibly proud of his heritage.
To learn more about Lynnwood City Council Candidate Dio Boucsieguez, visit https://electdio.com/.
Author: Kienan Briscoe
