All the cases of Democrat corruption in Snohomish County appear to have caught up with Snohomish County Executive John Lovick. The incumbent Democrat was defeated by challenger Dave Somers—also a Democrat—by a rather wide margin.
Certainly, the fact that Snohomish County wasted $12 million on plans for a courthouse that may never happen under Lovick’s watch also did not help his case. Indeed, Lovick’s administration—like so many previous Democrat administrations in Snohomish County—has been defined by scandal.
Recently, former county ombudsman John Koster filed a legal claim against Snohomish County. Koster is seeking nearly $1 million in damages for what he insists constitutes a violation to his right to free speech. He claims Lovick severed his path to re-appointment due to a public position he took against big labor. Koster’s complaint granted votes insight into just how far Lovick was willing to go in order to appease big labor.
Perhaps one of the biggest scandals that tainted Lovick’s administration occurred when he granted handsome pay hikes to 16 high-ranking staff members without the County Council’s approval. The total pay raises, including benefits, amount to nearly $150,000. One of those 16 high-ranking staff members to benefit from Lovick’s generosity with taxpayers’ dollars was former Deputy Executive Mark Ericks who, at the time, faced accusations of threatening to kill members of the county council. Witnesses confirm that Ericks threatened he “would ‘shoot’ or ‘kill’ council members because of their recent political decisions.” He also called one council member a “terrorist.”
Snohomish County’s Democrat officials have provided quite a lot of nutty stories throughout the years. Here’s hoping—for Snohomish County’s sake—Somers’ future administration won’t follow nearly all his predecessors’ leads.
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