The News Tribune endorsements: Our picks for Puyallup City Council

Puyallup can feel like a city divided. And many of those divisions are in full display in the race for Puyallup City Council District 2 Pos. 1, which will appear on this year’s primary ballot.

For a number of Puyallup residents, the names will be familiar.

Dean Johnson has served on the City Council since 2016, most recently as the city’s appointed mayor. He’s twice been elected to an at-large position on the council; this year he’s vying for the chance to represent District 2, which stretches from Fruitland to Shaw Road, largely between Pioneer and 23rd Avenue East.

Joe Colombo ran for City Council two years ago. He received The News Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsement at the time but was defeated by current council member Dennis King.

Mark Palmer is Puyallup’s former chief engineer. He’s never run for political office, but boasts a long career in managing major civic projects. Currently, he’s a manager working on Sound Transit’s Federal Way Link Extension.

Colombo, 51, once again gets The News Tribune Editorial Board’s nod. Professionally, his background is in information technology. But it’s his attention to detail and his desire to lift all of Puyallup’s residents that set him apart.

In recent years, Colombo founded two active community groups: Indivisible Puyallup and Families of Puyallup Public Schools. He’s also been engaged in local efforts to improve Puyallup’s response to homelessness and thoughtfully contend with important issues of equity and inclusion in a historically white city.

Colombo says he wants to bring ethics, transparency and accountability to the Puyallup City Council, describing himself as “a grassroots candidate that has what it takes to get things done.”

Time and time again during The News Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsement interview, Colombo underscored the development pressures Puyallup faces, and the city’s dire lack of affordable housing.

Puyallup’s response, he suggested, will define what tomorrow brings.

“I support economic vitality without negatively affecting our environment. We do need to preserve our farmland from business and warehouses. I also really see the need for affordable housing,” Colombo said.

“I have a teenage daughter who is currently in junior high, and I’m deeply concerned that she’s not going to be able to afford to live in the community in which I raised her,” he continued. “I want her to be able to buy a home and stay here if she wants to, and quite frankly, the current council has simply not done enough to encourage affordable housing inside the city.”

In many respects, Johnson, 59, provides a clear counter to the progressive ideals Colombo hopes to bring to local government.

Johnson’s family dates back generations in Puyallup. He’s a part-time stylist at Nordstrom and a local Realtor. He often underscores purported bipartisan credentials, but in truth, his hardline talking points resonate mostly with conservatives.

In this year’s Pierce County Voters’ Pamphlet, Johnson is championed as a candidate who will “never vote to defund our police” and as someone capable of protecting Puyallup “from radical politics and agendas.” The claims may score points with a particular brand of voter, but it’s mostly fevered rhetoric that’s detached from the realities a place like Puyallup faces — considering the city is moderate at its most liberal and has never come close to defunding the police.

Clearly, Johnson has sought to serve the city his family has long called home since first being elected in 2015, and it’s something he deserves credit for. He has many supporters in a city wrangling with the same thorny, highly partisan issues everywhere else contends with.

Still, Johnson’s reasoning, approach and demeanor are often suspect, particularly on issues related to homelessness, public safety and housing affordability.

In the opinion of The News Tribune Editorial Board, new leadership would be a boost for Puyallup.

Palmer, 64, provided several thoughtful answers during The News Tribune Editorial Board’s endorsement interview, particularly related to the city’s transportation needs and related policies. He is proud of his hometown and wants to see it succeed. But Palmer was also fired by the city of Puyallup in 2017 for his role in a badly botched road widening project near South Hill Mall that was years behind schedule, millions over budget and marred by costly litigation.

Considering the toll the project took on Puyallup, both financially and through the frustration of local drivers who, in the words of The News Tribune’s Sean Robinson, “spent months navigating traffic cones through the stalled project area,” we can’t endorse him in good faith.

Puyallup City Council (At Large)

Puyallup’s other contested City Council race — which will proceed straight to the general election this fall — pits two fresh faces.

Up for grabs is an at-large position on the Council, a job that will require a candidate capable of responding to hyper-local community concerns while also keeping the entire city’s best interest in mind.

Puyallup voters will face a difficult decision.

Renne Gilliam, 42, describes herself as a “daughter of Puyallup,” and for good reasons. She grew up there, returned to Puyallup after traversing South Africa, and has proceeded to establish herself in the community as an advocate for children and families. Gilliam has served as program director at the Puyallup YMCA Youth Investment Center in recent years. (Full disclosure and fun fact: Gilliam also graduated from Puyallup High School the same year as News Tribune Opinion Editor Matt Driscoll.)

Shellie Willis, 54, is a military retiree who chose Puyallup as the place she wanted her family to live after spending 24 years in the Army. Willis’ civic background is in workforce development and economic vitality initiatives. She has served as a Military Workforce Development Manager for WorkForce Central in Pierce County and as the organization’s Senior Director of Collective Impact. Willis purchased her first home in Puyallup, and told The News Tribune Editorial Board she hopes to bring “a fresh look and a more unique perspective” to the City Council.

In some ways, the race for Puyallup’s open at-large position is a difficult one to navigate. Both candidates lack traditional experience in government, and each has obvious strengths and weaknesses. At the same time, Gilliam and Willis also provide the potential for new ideas and new blood, which should be appealing to any voter.

Based on her background, lived experience and the much-needed diversity she would bring to Puyallup City Hall, The News Tribune Editorial Board endorses Willis with enthusiasm.

Either candidate is capable of doing the job, but we believe Willis has the most to offer.

During the endorsement interview process, Willis displayed a command of many of the pressing issues Puyallup faces, often bringing new ideas to the table and relying on her military-honed inclination to work collaboratively and inclusively. She spoke with conviction about the need to increase housing density and promote the development of affordable housing for young families and individuals, while at the same time protecting the city’s cherished character and open spaces. Willis believes revamping what she described as an onerous permitting process for developers can be part of the solution, and also discussed her desire to help Puyallup’s economy grow, through innovative approaches to supporting downtown businesses.

Willis, who is Black, would also bring diversity to a City Council in critical need of it. She has no interest in dividing people against each other, she said; if elected, Willis’ objective would be bringing people together and doing what’s best for everyone.

“One of the things that I learned in military services is that we all dress the same for a reason. One, so we can let down any biases, regardless of where I come from or who I am,” Willis told The News Tribune Editorial Board. “In my mind, it’s about accomplishing the mission. So regardless of how anyone feels about anyone, we have to be able to collaboratively and collectively make decisions with our community’s voice.”

Gilliam also promises a chance to shake up the City Council, based on her nontraditional path toward local politics and her background serving young people. Online, Gilliam touts endorsements from a wide array of current elected officials, including County Executive Bruce Dammeier, state Sen. Chris Gildon, and current City Council members Julie Door, Jim Kastama, Dennis King and John Palmer — not to mention former Puyallup mayor Kathy Turner.

It’s a level of support that speaks well of Gilliam as a candidate and a capable leader.

But in the view of The News Tribune Editorial Board, Puyallup politics would do well to disrupt the status quo for a change.

Ned Witting, who currently serves as Puyallup’s Deputy Mayor, is running unopposed in Puyallup’s District 3.

Lauren Adler is running unopposed in Puyallup’s District 1.

Correction: A previous version of this endorsement misstated the name of former Puyallup mayor Kathy Turner.

This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 5:00 AM.