Ballots are here: Who wants a seat on the Puyallup City Council? Here’s what to know
Puyallup voters have three City Council candidates to choose from when their primary election ballots arrive.
Joe Colombo, Mark Palmer and Mayor Dean Johnson are on the ballot for the primary election Aug. 1. They are running for the District No. 2 Position No. 1 spot. The top two candidates advance to the general election Nov. 7.
Drop box locations are at 324 S. Meridian, 11209 Shaw Rd. E. and 15420 Meridian E. The drop boxes close by 8 p.m. on election day.
Colombo, 51, said he’s the only candidate who hasn’t been a city employee.
If elected, he said he wants to create an ethics commission to help oversee City Council decisions, to make sure council members are transparent and held accountable.
“I want to make sure that the decisions that leadership make are the right ones and the ethical ones for everybody,” Colombo told The News Tribune.
This isn’t his first time running for City Council. He lost to Council Member Dennis King in 2021.
Colombo said other priorities on his to-do list include preserving the city’s greenery, preventing warehouses from taking over, helping small businesses, and providing more affordable housing.
He’s endorsed by groups such as the Pierce County Central Labor Council, the Washington Education Association and the 25th Legislative District Democrats. He has raised over $10,500 for his campaign as of July 15, according to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission’s website.
Colombo sits on the city’s Design Review and Historic Preservation Board. The board reviews mock-ups – visual representations of how a project will look – to make sure they adhere to city code.
Colombo moved to Puyallup in 2018. He lives with his daughter and his cat. He grew up in South Hill. He’s also lived in Renton and Seattle.
He works as an information technology project manager and works with software developers. He previously worked as a credit counselor, helping clients with their budgets and debt.
Colombo got his master’s degree in psychology from Western American University in San Diego. He got his bachelor’s degree in psychology from Western Washington University.
This is Palmer’s first time running for public office.
He has raised over $7,200 for his campaign as of July 15, according to the PDC website.
Palmer, 64, wrote in his Pierce County voters’ pamphlet statement that he is invested in Puyallup — he raised his children in the city and his grandchildren live there, too.
If elected, he wrote that he plans to make informed decisions by seeking out different opinions, because the position he’s running for is non-partisan.
Palmer is a senior civil engineer for Sound Transit. He was the Puyallup City Engineer from 2011 to 2017.
The News Tribune previously reported that the city fired Palmer in November 2017, in connection to a $7 million lawsuit between the city and Conway Construction, a general contractor in Tacoma. Court records show Palmer made the decision to fire the company in 2016 — in the middle of a project to widen 39th Avenue Southwest near the South Hill Mall and Costco — “despite being warned about possible legal repercussions,” The News Tribune reported.
Palmer told The News Tribune the decision to fire the company came from his higher-ups, and that his job as a city engineer was to “carry through” the decision.
“I would like to move on from this,” Palmer said.
Palmer served in the Army in the 1980s. He got his bachelor’s degree in aerospace structures from the United States Military Academy at West Point.
“My unique blend of experience is an asset for this position and provides me with a balanced perspective,” he wrote in the voters’ pamphlet.
Johnson, 59, is the only candidate who’s been elected by voters. He was first elected to the City Council in 2015, and he was reelected in 2019. He became the mayor of Puyallup in January 2022.
Johnson is endorsed by groups such as the Puyallup Police Association and Teamsters 117. He has raised over $61,800 for his campaign as of July 15, according to the PDC’s website.
He wrote in his voters’ pamphlet statement that he will “never vote to defund our police,” that he believes in protecting farmlands and limiting warehouse developments, and that he believes voters — not city government — should decide on tax increases.
When The News Tribune requested an interview with Johnson, he directed a reporter to his campaign spokesperson, Stephanie Schramm, who instead sent a statement on his behalf that said in part: “I deeply love this city and upon re-election I will continue to do all I can to make this a special place for countless children, families and seniors to enjoy many new memories together.”
The News Tribune previously reported that he was born in Tacoma, and that his family moved to Puyallup over 20 years ago. The priorities he listed upon becoming mayor included affordable housing, addressing homelessness, and protecting animals and household pets.
Johnson and his wife have three children and two grandchildren.
He is a small business owner and works part-time at Nordstrom. He used to be a pastor at Immanuel Celebration Church.
Johnson got his master’s degree in education from Faith International University & Seminary.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the name of Johnson’s spokesperson and additional comments from Palmer about his time working for the city.
This story was originally published July 18, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
