Dave Somers (D)             Mayor Vern Little           Steve Dana

The Snohomish County Council position for District 5 started out with four candidates vying for the county council seat, however, after Greg Stephens dropped out of the race just over two weeks ago, incumbent Dave Somers (D), was left running against Lake Stevens Mayor Vern Little and restaurant owner Steve Dana, both Republicans.

As of Tuesday, Aug. 18, which was the official primary election day, Little was behind Dana by 88 votes.
By Thursday, after all of the votes had been counted,  Little conceded the election to Dana after losing by a mere 254 votes. Little called both candidates to congratulate them.

“I’m not disappointed, I did my best in a short  time to get my message out.,” Little said. “I called Steve and Dave and wished them luck and look forward to working with either of them as the Mayor of Lake Stevens. I learned a lot and appreciate those that supported me. Thanks to my wife and family for their support. Without them I wouldn’t have gotten this far. Lake Stevens– thanks and I look forward to working for you.”

Dana appreciated Little’s phone call and looks forward to a relationship in the future.

“I was pleased that Vern and I will be able to work together now. I think he and I have a lot of interests in common,” Dana said. “We have some core issues that are pretty consistent. What he wants to accomplish for Lake Stevens is very consistent with what I want to accomplish for Lake Stevens.”

Dana spent much of his youth in Lake Stevens where both of his grandmothers lived and has watched the rapid growth over the years.
One of the major issues that pushed him into running for county council is what has happened in Lake Stevens through county decisions– especially with housing, he said.

Somers received just over 51 percent of the overall votes.

District 5 includes cities in the eastern part of Snohomish County including Lake Stevens, Snohomish and Monroe, among others.
Both Somers and Dana will be participating in the Lake Stevens Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum on Monday, Sept. 14.
The Lake Stevens Journal will also be hosting a Community Candidate Forum sometime in October. Look for details in the coming weeks.