Why I’m Running Against the Incumbent

Change is needed.

The incumbent for Position 1, Kim Daughtry, has served on the Lake Stevens City Council for 16 years and represented our community on the Community Transit Board of Directors for 12 of those. Long tenures in public office often lead to a “go along to get along” approach. While that may work for routine city business, it fails in times of real crisis.

When Community Transit faced one of the most significant challenges in its history, Mr. Daughtry did not stand up for our community. He abdicated his oversight role by allowing the CEO to hold emergency powers for over a year, and he remained unresponsive to countless public commenters who asked for help.

During this time, Community Transit fell far behind other agencies. While others were restoring service after the pandemic, CT was still cutting trips. The agency’s decision to impose a vaccine mandate in 2022, when no other transit agency in Snohomish County or north of us did, forced drivers, mechanics, and staff out of their jobs. These were essential workers who had served through the pandemic. The mandate not only hurt employees but derailed service recovery, leaving hundreds of thousands of trips lost. Ironically, COVID cases within the agency spiked after the policy was enacted, reaching more than three times the highest monthly case count from 2021.

For nine months I raised these issues publicly, with data, testimony, and concern for both workers and riders. Mr. Daughtry never addressed those concerns, explained his position, or showed empathy to those impacted.

As someone who has worked in public transportation for 20 years, including at Community Transit, I saw firsthand the damage caused: service levels collapsed to 2016 levels, public communication lacked transparency, and riders were left stranded as a significant number of trips were dropped daily in 2022. The agency continues to collect around $200 million in annual revenue from our communities.

This was a moment that demanded leadership and accountability. Instead, our representative failed to act.

Lake Stevens deserves leaders who have the courage to stand up for the best interests of our community - not only in City Hall, but also on the boards and commissions where they represent us.