LYNNWOOD—The Lynnwood City Council will host a closed-door Executive Session—RCW 42.30.110(1)(h)—on Monday, June 10, to select eight out of 24 eligible applicants to fill a council vacancy left by the resignation of the Councilwoman Shirley Sutton in May. The application deadline for applicants was May 31, 2024.
The 24 eligible applicants for City Council Position 1 are Victoria Bell, Terrance Chiu, Ki Seung Cho, Kevin Coleman, Simreet Dhaliwal, Derica Escamilla, Rosamaria Graziani, Keton Handy, Justin Harrer, Ted Hikel, Lu Jiang, Caroline Judd-Herzfeldt, Bob Larson, Naz Lashgari, Robert Leutwyler, Carol McMahon, Rick Michels, Raymond Mooney, Cory Palmer, Gray Petersen, Rebekah Scharf, Lisa Soros, Jeff Tingley, and Lisa Utter.
Two of the applicants are former city council members— Lisa Utter who lost to Councilman Joshua Binda in the 2021 General Election—and Ted Hikel who has been a vocal critical of city leadership and sued the City of Lynnwood in 2015. Three other applicants ran for city council: Rosamaria Graziani, who lost to Vice President Julieta Altamirano-Crosby in the 2019 Primary Election; Naz Lashgari who lost against Jim Smith and Patrick Decker in 2019 and 2021 respectively; and Robert Leutwyler who lost to Vice President Altamirano-Crosby in 2023.
The three L’s—Lashgari, Larson, and Leutwyler—are all current members of the city’s Planning Commission. Jiang and Dhaliwal are members of the Lynnwood Diversity Equity & Inclusion Commission of which Jiang chairs. Judd-Herzfeldt is a current member of the Human Services Commission.
Ki Seung Cho, or better known as “Master Cho,” is the owner of Master Cho’s Taekwondo in Lynnwood. In 2022 he was appointed as president of the Korean Sports Association of Washington state and serves as the director of the Taekwondo Association for the Disabled in Washington State. Cho was a long-term member of the American Taekwondo Association, served as auditor of the Korean Taekwondo Association in America and was President of the Seattle Washington Korean Association.
Lashgari, former Chair of Lynnwood’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, sought the Democratic Precinct Committee Officer nomination to the Snohomish County Council District 3 position, after Councilwoman Stephanie Wright announced her resignation on August 29, 2022. Beside serving on the Lynnwood Planning Commission, Lashgari serves on the Board of Snohomish County Public Facilities District which includes the Lynnwood Convention Center, the Edmonds Art Center and the Angel of the Winds Arena.
During its Executive Session on June 10, council members will submit and review a ranked choice ballot. Based on those rankings, eight candidates will be interviewed by the City Council on June 17 and June 20. The council will vote on its decision on June 20 to fill Position 1.
The applicant selected my majority vote of the council fill the vacancy of Lynnwood City Council Position 1 until the certification of the November 2025 election.
Author: Mario Lotmore
