(The Center Square) – A community organizer, a Boeing engineer, and an aerospace contractor are running for Everett City Council District 4, but one might not even qualify.
Niko Battle is a community organizer, small business owner, and lifelong advocate for youth empowerment, public safety, and working families. His platform includes filling the 90 vacancies at the Everett Police Department, incentivizing affordable housing developers, and protecting Everett Transit from consolidating with regional systems like Sound Transit.
However, recent news coverage from The Lynwood Times and My Everett News found that Battle registered to vote in Snohomish County five days before filing to run for District 4. The city’s municipal code requires candidates to be a registered voter of the city for a period of at least one year preceding their election.
“Our legal team is still in the process of reviewing how Section 2.2 of the City charter should be interpreted,” Everett Public Information Officer Simone Tarver told The Center Square. “While we can’t comment further right now, we are committed to providing more information when we can.”
It was unclear at the time of publication if the city had received a declaration of candidacy form from Battle. The form states that the candidate has been a resident of the city for over a year.
Battle’s campaign did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.
Fellow District 4 Candidate Alan Rubio is a contractor in the local aerospace industry and a first-generation immigrant. His campaign is running on lowering taxes for Everett residents, incentivising new housing options to increase access to affordable housing, and supporting law enforcement.
The third candidate is Luis Burbano, an Ecuadorian-born small business owner and Boeing engineer. His platform includes preventing the Sound Transit’s expansion into Everett from displacing low-income residents, minimizing tax burdens on residents amid a budget crisis, and expanding crisis response to allow police to spend more time targeting criminals.
In an LWV forum debate on July 10, the three candidates spoke more on their platforms. The three were asked what the biggest challenge facing District 4 in the next four years. Rubio and Burbano agreed that public safety is the top issue, as residents increasingly feel less safe.
Battle echoed the public safety concerns, but also highlighted the “extreme rising housing costs” that Everett residents face.
On the issue of homelessness, Rubio believes that for the city to address its homelessness crisis, it needs to be part of a countywide plan. Burbano said the city should continue investing in housing as a way to take care of homeless people, but should also see how the city’s work compares to other jurisdictions’ strategies. Battle agreed with Rubio that the city needs a regional approach to homelessness, but emphasized a housing first approach to ending homelessness with wraparound services.
Everett voters will vote on the three candidates during the primary on Aug. 5.
