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Editorial: Sumner should stick with Enslow, Hannus

Voters in the city of Sumner must make two important decisions this fall in the municipal elections for mayor and a city council position.

Allegations, rumors and innuendo have charged the mayor’s race between the incumbent and his challenger, a sitting council member and awakened this normally quiet community.

Mayor

For the past four years, Dave Enslow has led the city of Sumner with an eye on the future and a reverence for the city’s past. Matt Richardson has been watching from his city council seat and decided the city needs new direction.

As a long-time Sumner resident, Enslow says he’s not anxious to see the city grow but understands that as the intersection of State Routes 167 and 410, the community is an attractive destination for commuters. He believes in managing that growth by supporting the Manufacturing Industrial Center. He wants to bring new money and jobs into Sumner, so residents won’t have to leave Sumner for their jobs.

Enslow’s position on the Sound Transit Board of Directors also offers the community a critical role in the development and improvement of the Sounder.

Enslow showed leadership this past year when he wrote a check to the city for the financial equivalent of a furlough because the city was asking it employees to take time off without pay.

Richardson dismisses the allegations and rumors some are circulating about him in the final weeks of the campaign as the desperate actions of those “Rotarians” who have held power in Sumner for a long time and are scared of losing it.

That may be so, but while Richardson has performed adequately in his first term on council, he doesn’t present a strong enough argument to unseat the incumbent.

The Herald endorses Dave Enslow.

Position 1

Both incumbent Ed Hannus and challenger Stuart Scheuerman agree they are similar in nearly every way, perhaps differing only in the way they view development.

But even in that arena, we don’t see much that sets the two apart. Hannus believes the Manufacturing Industrial Center is beneficial to the city, supports building a YMCA and is interested in exploring the idea of adding additional Sounder stations. He’s realistic that there’s no easy solution to Sumner’s traffic problem.

Scheuerman has served as a council member in the past and could do well again in the future. But there is no reason to replace the incumbent, Hannus, who is already getting the job done.

The Herald endorses Ed Hannus.