Voters in Everett will be electing a new mayor next month. The city’s current leader, Ray Stephanson, is stepping down after 14 years in the role.
Cassie Franklin and Judy Tuohy both serve on the city council, though both are relative newcomers to those roles. Franklin has been on the council for about two years while Tuohy has served for three.
Tuohy says her experience as an elected official and being a lifelong resident of Everett give her an advantage when it comes to tackling some of the city’s biggest challenges, which include things like homelessness, the opioid epidemic, creating more opportunity for business development, and public safety.
Tuohy says the Everett Police Department has been short staffed since she’s been on council.
“So what I want to do right away is hire some of our retired officers to come in and do the admin work for the officers so we can get more police on the streets,” she said.
Tuohy says that increased police presence would be especially useful in trouble spots throughout the south side of the city. She has spent a lot of her time on the council focused on gang activity and related gun crimes.
Her opponent, Cassie Franklin, agrees public safety is a major issue. She wants to see more community policing, new policies around reporting lost or stolen firearms, and increased resources devoted to homelessness and addiction treatment.
Franklin wants to reach out to neighboring cities to find solutions.“Whether they’re developing affordable housing, whether they are expanding treatment options, whether they are opening a temporary shelter," she said. "And then, certainly, partnering with our social service network.”
Franklin has spent her entire career focused on issues of homelessness, addiction and mental health. She says that experience gives her an advantage if elected. Plus, Franklin has a long list of endorsements, including current Mayor Ray Stephanson and the Herald newspaper’s Editorial Board.
Whoever wins will be the city’s first female mayor in 124 years.
Interview with Cassie Franklin
Interview with Judy Tuohy
