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Probably one of the messiest political races in Snohomish County this year, is the Everett City Council District 4 race between Niko Battle and Alan Rubio. The race isn’t messy because of jarring between candidates; it is messy because residents are very publicly witnessing Machiavellian tactics by Democrat political power players in real-time to secure their partisan influence on the non-partisan Everett City Council.

Battle, the darling of political Democrat elites, won the 2025 Primary Election handsomely. This smart and articulate Democrat Party advocate is endorsed by high Democratic Party leaders such as Sens. Marko Liias and June Robinson, and Snohomish County Council members Strom Peterson (Lynnwood and Edmonds) and Megan Dunn (Mukilteo, Everett, and Tulalip).

At 12, Battle joined the Young Democrats of Atlanta and at 13, he was the youngest staff member on the 2014 Democratic Party of Georgia’s coordinated campaign. He was named one of Seattle’s Most Influential people by the Seattle Magazine in their November issue for his advocacy on gun violence prevention; and is a veteran of the I-1491 and I-1639 campaigns as well as the CEO of a student-led, GVP non-profit, We Won’t Be Next.

With significant political experience in both Washington and Georgia, Battle has earned the respect and endorsement of these high-profile Democrats.

However, Battle has been embroiled in controversy for this District 4 run—from alleged embellishment of his accomplishments to residency challenges to campaign finance violations alleged by his now former campaign treasurer.

Battle has a Residency Challenge hearing scheduled for Monday, September 8, with the Snohomish County Auditor’s Office and a Snohomish County Court Hearing scheduled for Tuesday, September 9, to remove his name from the General Election ballot, erasing his Primary Election victory.

With no formal rulings on legal challenges against Battle from either Snohomish County Auditor Garth Fell nor Honorable Superior Court Judge Richard Okrent, who in 2023 received the Judge Lucas Award by the  Snohomish County Black Heritage Committee and the 2021 Judge of the Year Award by the Snohomish County Bar Association, Snohomish County Democrats appear to be kicking Niko Battle to the curb in favor of political unknown Luis Burbano, who failed to advance to the 2025 General Election following the August Primary Election.

Burbano is hosting a Campaign Kickoff for September 10, just a day after Battle’s scheduled court hearing. Special Guest Speakers are Snohomish County Councilwoman Megan Dunn—who just months earlier endorsed Battle—and Demi Chatters, Chair of the City of Everett Planning Commission. Co-hosts for the event are Snohomish County Democrat Party Chair Robin McGee and Everett School Board member Charles Adkins. All of whom are Progressive Democrats—not traditional moderate Democrats—and white except for Chatters and Adkins.

This recent Campaign kickoff announcement comes just weeks after Everett City Council members Liz Vogeli (current representative of District 4) and Paula Rhyne pulled their endorsements from Battle.

Rhyne is the Legislative Aide to Snohomish County Councilwoman Megan Dunn. There is no secret in political circles in Everett between the unsaid political alliance between Councilwomen Vogeli, Mary Fosse and Rhyne on the Everett City Council with Dunn leading the troop, sources told the Lynnwood Times. Sources have also shared with the Lynnwood Times, Dunn’s aspiration to run for Snohomish County Executive in 2027, who, for the record, has not publicly declared her intention to run for the position.

Rhyne, on April 4, 2025, sent out an email recruiting for a person to run for the District 4 seat after her political ally, District 4 Councilwoman Vogeli, decided not to seek re-election. Rumors then swirled that Rhyne recruited Battle since she endorsed him for the position, but Rhyne has since dispelled the rumors telling the Lynnwood Times that she “did not tap or recruit him [Niko] to run for this seat.”  

Mary Fosse, the current seat holder for District 1, announced in April 2025 that she will not seek re-election for the seat. She has since endorsed candidate Sam Hem who is also endorsed coincidentally by those involved in Burbano’s campaign kickoff—Charles Adkins, Megan Dunn, and Paula Rhyne.

The Machiavellian move to possibly throw Battle to the curb appears to be a move to secure power, possibly at the expense of the democratic process in full display for all to see.

Does Battle have challenges, yes; however, to date, no evidence has been presented proving that he has not been a resident of District 4 for at least six months (Everett City Charter requirement) nor one year (Washington State law requirement) within the city limits of Everett prior to the General Election.

Taking a 10,000-foot view of the situation, the sequence of events is oddly coincidental:

• Two legal challenges suddenly present themselves to remove an African American candidate who won the Primary Election.
• Battle’s treasurer, who does campaign work within the Democratic Party, files a damning violation against said candidate literally throwing him under the bus.
• The manager of an apartment complex, without legal notice or a letter from an attorney, provides a random person from the community a signed letter affirming that Battle is not on the lease at his alleged property of residence—not being on a lease does not equate to a person not living on the property.
• The pulling of endorsements from the two Everett City Council members politically allied on the council—Rhyne and Vogeli.
• An impromptu campaign kickoff for Burbano before any rulings to remove Battle from the ballot and who has all to gain from Battle’s removal from the General Election, involves the literal boss (Megan Dunn) of one of those Everett City Council members (Paula Rhyne) who pulled her endorsement.

In combination, all of these “coincidences” have the signs of an alleged political takedown of an African American candidate who won the Primary Election by high-profile, mainly white, Progressive Democrat party members who now suddenly align themselves with a candidate closely resembling the racial demographic of District 4.

Both Rhyne and Vogeli have shared that they rescinded their endorsements because of the allegations that have been raised about Battle’s eligibility to run; however, the web of political connections with the potential loss of political influence for the Progressive Democrats on the Everett Council cannot be overlooked.

District 4 is and has been, the forgotten district of Everett. It has a very high Latino and Hispanic population who share traditional Catholic beliefs. Both Latino candidates (Alan Rubio, who advanced to the General Election, and Luis Burbano) received a combined 57.75% of the vote to Battle’s 42.05%.

An inconvenient truth is that non-white voters tend to vote for candidates who share a common religious or racial similarity, commonly referred to as a “voting bloc.” With Battle on the ticket, the Progressive Democratic alliance on the Everett City Council hangs in the balance.

If Rubio were to defeat Battle, the influence to push more progressive policies such as harm reduction, low barrier housing, reformed policing, cashless bail, and net zero emissions, would be reduced from three votes to two on the council.

Burbano’s sudden support by these Progressive political elites now adds speculation on who is he be beholden to—the residents of District 4 or these political power players with their motives and agendas?

Everett has been stagnant for decades with District 4 residents suffering. Most of the economic development in Everett has been in Districts 1 (Mary Fosse) and 2 (Paula Rhyne).

Everett voters in 2018 approved the establishment of five distinct voting districts to equitably represent the unique needs of voters within a given geographic boundary under the mantra of “fair representation.” This effort was championed by now Snohomish County Councilwoman Megan Dunn. In 2021, the first election by district was held which resulted in Vogeli, Fosse, and Rhyne being elected to office.

However, one cannot help to speculate that the intention to establish “fair representation” by Everett voters with the establishment of distinct voting districts, is now being usurped for the pursuit of consolidating power that economically benefit the districts represented by the very Progressive elites who advocated for this change.  

As I stated earlier, the Everett City Council District 4 race is now the messiest political race in Snohomish County. This week residents will now see Machiavellian tactics in action.

Battle has the option to not show up to his voter registration challenge on Monday with the County Auditor and his Tuesday court case to attempt to remove his name off the ballot risking default judgements possibly resulting in his eligibility to not hold office.

With all the backdoor and under-the-table power moves now exposed, do these Progressive elites know something the public isn’t aware of yet? Why such confidence to announce a campaign kickoff for Burbano, a candidate whose name isn’t event on the ballot?

Grab your popcorn, this is going to be a must-watch race filled with everything less a sex scandal for the 2025 General Election!

Commentary by Mario Lotmore, Lynnwood Times Political Journalist

COMMENTARY DISCLAIMER: The views and comments expressed are those of the writer and not necessarily those of the Lynnwood Times nor any of its affiliates.

Author: Mario Lotmore