We endorse: Democrat Marcus Young of Frederickson would refresh Pierce County Council
The problems facing the Pierce County Council can be divided into two parts.
One is that 21st Century changes are occurring at digital speed: skyrocketing home prices, lack of affordable housing, substandard mental/behavioral health care, and increasing environmental challenges that put our economy and quality of life at risk.
The other is that we’ve had a county council responding to these changes at a horse-and-buggy pace.
This two-part problem doesn’t bode well for a district situated in the Mount Rainier foothills that’s contending more and more with urban sprawl.
Of all the candidates running for Council District 3, one of four open seats on the seven-member council this year, we believe Democrat Marcus Young is best suited for the times and should move forward in the Aug. 4 primary.
The District 3 seat is now held by Jim McCune, the Graham arch-conservative who’s being forced out after eight years by term limits.
Growing unincorporated communities such as Frederickson, where Young lives, along with Spanaway, Graham and Eatonville are long overdue for a refresh. The County Council would be strengthened by Young’s persuasive enthusiasm.
The Pierce County native, 43, serves as president of the Bethel School Board. Young’s broad community connections as a pastor, youth mentor and foster parent would bring a useful perspective to a council that at times seems to have gone stale.
Not insignificantly, Young also would be a person of color on a council that has none. The first (and so far only) Black person elected to the council was Harold Moss, who retired in 2004.
Young, who works in security for the Puyallup School District, zeroes in on growth management issues in the 657-square-mile district, including a lack of accessible services and adequate transportation and infrastructure. “I don’t believe our voice has been heard out here,” he told us. “Our needs have not been met, and that’s a larger equity issue.”
As Young points out, the largest geographical district in the county has less than 4 miles of public transportation.
Young’s Democratic opponent Yanah G. Cook, 70, also presented well in our endorsement interview. The rural McKenna resident owns a counseling business in Olympia, serves as a precinct committee officer and waged an unsuccessful bid for South Pierce fire commissioner in 2017. She proposes a 10-percent council member salary cut to help meet tough economic times.
On the Republican side, Joe Zaichkin, 59, of Graham, was motivated to run by a few frustrating personal run-ins with county government, including a land-use issue that kept him from expanding his off-road vehicle business. Born and raised in Pierce County, Zaichkin is anti-tax, skeptical of the need for an aggressive COVID-19 public health response and wears his lack of political experience on his sleeve.
He will need a lot of luck to get past Amy Cruver, who needs no introduction in District 3 Republican circles. She’s worked as McCune’s council assistant for the past 14 years, thus installing her as his heir apparent and legacy candidate.
Cruver declined to meet with our Editorial Board, a requirement for endorsement consideration.
No doubt the Eatonville resident knows about constituent service and the nuts and bolts of local government. She was elected to a one-year stint on the Pierce County Charter Review Commission in 2016.
But we hope discerning voters remember McCune’s blind support of Trump style Republicanism, increasingly out of step with South Sound values. McCune also cast a crucial vote against a one-tenth of 1 percent mental health tax that would have helped ease the suffering of thousands of Pierce County residents, including those in District 3.
The 2020 election brings an opportunity for new ideas, new energy and a will to get ahead of changes. Young is poised to do that if District 3 voters give a capable Democrat a chance for the first time in over 15 years.
ABOUT OUR ENDORSEMENTS
The News Tribune Editorial Board interviewed candidates and did other research before making our picks in the Aug. 4 primary election. For races with only two candidates, we will wait until general election season. Endorsements are intended to promote civic discourse and encourage voters to dig deeper. Board members include: Stephanie Pedersen, TNT president and publisher; Matt Misterek, editorial page editor; Karen Irwin, editorial writer; Matt Driscoll, local news columnist; and Pamela Transue, community representative and former president of Tacoma Community College.
This story was originally published July 15, 2020 at 2:15 PM.