Mayoral Election Coverage 2017: An Interview with Brian Sullivan

I wanted to know who Everett’s mayoral candidates were.

I kept seeing their names on yard signs, but I didn’t know where they came from, what they stood for. How did they see the city that I walk through every day?

My wife and I plan to live in Everett and raise our children here. We’re invested in this city for the indefinite future — for better or worse.

The next four years of our lives will be influenced by whoever takes office at 2930 Wetmore.

I sent a Facebook message to all four mayoral candidates requesting an interview on behalf of Live in Everett. The goal, I said, was not to endorse anybody (we are a nonpartisan organization), but to talk issues and introduce blog readers the people behind the yard signs.

Brian Sullivan was the first candidate to consent to an interview.

I met him at Silver Cup on a balmy afternoon in late May.

Brian Sullivan has served on the Snohomish County Council since 2008. He’s spent time in the House of Representatives. He’s written bills, served on the boards of local community organizations, and won many prestigious awards.

He also owns Sully’s, a restaurant in Mukilteo.

Indeed, his resume is long and varied—everything from Alfy’s Pizza corporate manager to serving on the House Committee of Energy.

Significantly, he served as mayor of Mukilteo for seven years in the 1990s. He began this mayoral stint when he was twenty-nine years old.

Sullivan characterizes his management style as being collaborative. While he aims to find consensus on a given matter, he acknowledges that sometimes things have to get done by one elected official acting with “political will.”

He’s a former wrestler with a wrestler’s build and close cropped hair. On the day of our interview, he’s wearing a dark windbreaker over a white button down shirt. His voice is rough around the edges, his ideas come fast, and he drinks black coffee from a paper cup.

A former political opponent once characterized Sullivan as a “longshoreman in a suit.” This was meant as an insult, but Brian wears it as a badge of pride. He sees himself as a champion of working men and women and he isn’t afraid of knocking on doors to get out the vote. He’s endorsed by many local unions and likes to talk about the role that fire, police, and public works departments play in a healthy city.

I start our interview by asking him about districting.

Sullivan is in favor of a current initiative that calls for dividing the Everett city council into five geographic districts. If the initiative passes, there would also be two council members “at large.”

This would allow areas like Casino Road and Broadway East equal representation in all matters that pertain to the city. Historically, most council members come from areas in North Everett, particularly neighborhoods west of Broadway.

I ask him what sorts of opportunities he hopes to create in our city’s under-served communities.

“First and foremost, if you want economic development for a city you have to make it safe. The primary function of a city is public safety… I’ve been mayor before. I built a police department and fire department from scratch and also built a public works department from scratch.”

Sullivan mentions that the Everett Police are operating at 85% of their potential capacity, calling the department “demoralized and overworked.” He aims to hire more officers, and points out that the city has only hired two black police officers in forty-five years and only six percent of the force is women.

There needs room for diverse demographics in the public sector.

I mention that I live on the border of the Delta and Riverside neighborhoods—Broadway East Central. What can he do for my area?

“I want to expand [Everett Community College]” he says. “I want to expand student housing. Absolutely.”

We talk housing: a big issue for people my age.

“Seattle has higher home ownership than Everett,” Brian says. “Gold Bar has higher home ownership than Everett.”

Here Sullivan throws out some statistics and his blue eyes get intense.

Everett has a 40% home-ownership rate, the lowest in the state of Washington. He acknowledges that that number is growing as people are priced out of the Seattle housing market and moving further north.

“A community has a hard time coming together until you hit that 60% home-ownership rate. [As a former mayor] I know the ideal goal is to have 15% rental and 85% home ownership.”

He says he wants incentivize builders to redevelop existing properties and structures. As examples he points to several old houses mid-Rucker Avenue that were once apartments but have since been remodeled and sold as condos.

The Live in Everett slogan is “good things happen here.” I ask Sullivan, a Mariner High School graduate and long-time area resident what he likes about Milltown.

“I like the waterfront,” Brian says. “We [the public] have to have better access to the waterfront. We need boardwalks and attractions.”

As a former board member of the Washington State Historic Trust he has an appreciation for the historic neighborhoods and craftsman homes of the city.

He calls the Lowell District a “lost gem” and mentions that when he was growing up Everett had a vital downtown core with several department stores.

I get the impression that Sullivan is someone who really cares about Everett. Behind the budget statistics and sports-coach exterior is someone who likes to see himself in the role of a helper and public servant.

He mentions that right now the mayor’s office is on the tenth floor of the Wall Street Building behind bulletproof glass. As mayor he’d like to move the office to the ground floor to make it accessible to the public, just as the governor’s office in Olympia is open to all people.

Sullivan also seems genuinely concerned when I tell him that I work in the social services sector. I tell him we’re feeling the brunt of homelessness epidemic and opioid use.

He acknowledges these issues and doesn’t shy away from them.

I can respect that.

We end the interview amicably. Brian Sullivan invites me to have dinner at his restaurant some time.

I tell him I might just take him up on that. I like a calzone as much as the next guy.

The application deadline for mayoral candidacy was last week. There are four candidates contending for the title of mayor. Additionally, many council seats are up for grabs. Stay tuned to the Live in Everett blog for interviews with other candidates.

What will the changing of the guard bring?

You have a say.

You can register to vote. You can read about candidates on the internet and Facebook. You can cast your ballot in the upcoming primary. You can attend a candidate forum. You can volunteer for the campaign of your choice.

Heck, you can make political memes that make people think.

A healthy city is a city where people have a voice.

Our city will become what we decide.