HARD WORK by Council 2 campaign volunteers was rewarded in early November when voters selected Aaron Reardon as the new Snohomish County Executive.

Several volunteers assisted the Reardon campaign for some weeks with telephone banking, sign waving and doorbelling. Among the most active were Bob Mueller, Terry VanWyck, Pete Dykstra, Gerri Delisle, Tamara Dutton and Roger Moller, who campaigned in the primary as well as the November 4 election.

Also assisting were: Karen Kahmann, Ryan Larsen, Ken Lechner, Joe Kraft, Allison Warner and Kathryn Watanabe.

Among the reasons Council 2 leaders welcomed Reardon’s election is that Snohomish County is one of the largest jurisdictions in Council 2.

“It’s important to have someone in that office who knows labor’s issues on such aspects as health care and contracting out,” says Pat Thompson, Director of Legislation/Political Action for Council 2.

Also, during these tough budgeting times it helps to have someone with a good financial background in state budget priorities, Thompson says.

Reardon, he adds, has all those attributes.

In Spokane, the candidate endorsed by Council 2, Sen.. Jim West, who is the current Republican majority leader in the Senate, was successful in his bid for Mayor of Spokane.

“City employees were relieved to see the former mayor, John Powers, go,” Thompson adds. Powers, who was not regarded as a friend of Labor, lost in the primary.

Overall, although the elections produced a few disappointments, the Labor cause fared better this year in most races, Thompson says.

The balance of power in the Legislature has not changed and the losses that were suffered in some races are unlikely to have a serious impact on our union’s agenda, he adds.