Three candidates vie for one District 2 seat

By Meghan Erkkinen

The Signal
merkkinen@tacomaweekly.com
Published on: October 23, 2008

Three candidates are competing for the District 2 seat on Pierce County Council currently held by Democrat Calvin Goings, who cannot run for the position again due to term limits. The seat covers a diverse district, which includes parts of Tacoma, the Tideflats, Fife and Puyallup.

Carolyn Merrival (D)

According to candidate Carolyn Merrival, the reason she is running for Pierce County Council is to bring a new voice to county government.

“The main reason I’m running is for too long the council has been listening to the wrong voices,” Merrival said. “They’ve been listening to the voices of special interest groups, and I think they should be listening to the citizens. I want to be the voice of families on the council.”

As the county comes up on challenging financial times, Merrival recognizes the county has hard choices it will have to make. There are two areas she said the county should focus on going into the future – the first, public safety, should always be a priority. The second is to continue to promote the local economy.

The city also needs to look further into the future to determine rational policies towards growth and transportation, Merrival added.

“I think that we’re going to have to be really bold on transportation. We need to be a lot bolder. We need to finish (State Route) 167 because that means jobs. We need to be looking at better public transportation,” she said.

Merrival has a PhD in chemistry from the University of Washington. She is married with one son, two stepsons and five grandchildren. She works as a preschool assistant teacher.

Al Rose (D)

Al Rose, who has been a deputy prosecutor for Pierce County for 14 years, said his work has prepared him to face a lot of the issues he would face as a county council member.

Rose recognizes the county faces tough times ahead, and recognizes that the government and citizens will have to make sacrifices.

“When it comes to what our priorities are, you have to look at what are the key missions of the county and the first one is keeping people safe,” he said.

He noted that the county would need to make important sacrifices, such as limiting travel, reevaluating budgets and implementing or continuing hiring freezes.

When it comes to roads, one of the major priorities in Pierce County is building the State Route 167 extension, Rose said

“I think we need to work with our local leaders in the city of Fife, port of Tacoma, city of Tacoma, our state delegation and our federal delegation to work on that extension,” he said. “That will ease the traffic in Fife but it will also expand the port…and bring family wage jobs to Pierce County.”

Rose said he recognizes the diversity of his district and would work to address challenges from the urban McKinley neighborhood and the suburban northeast Tacoma, to the Port of Tacoma and Fife’s remaining farmland.

Rose and his wife Rena reside in Puyallup and have four children.

Joyce McDonald (R)

Joyce McDonald has served as a state representative for five terms, and is now looking to serve constituents a little closer to home.

In her work in Olympia, McDonald has worked to balance the state budget by focusing on core gov-ernment functions and by improving the efficiency of government services through performance audits.

In her work on the Trade and Economic Development Committee, McDonald worked to promote the state economy. On the Pierce County Council, she would make job creation and retention a top priority.

In her legislative work, McDonald was twice recognized by the Washington Council of Police and Sheriffs as its Legislator of the Year for providing increased school safety, tighter sex offender laws and tougher drunk driving and meth lab penalties. She plans to continue to improve public safety in Pierce County on the council.

McDonald’s priorities are maintaining a healthy economy, reducing property taxes, protecting seniors, improving educational accountability and funding and reducing traffic congestion.

McDonald, a Puyallup resident, was born and raised in Scotland and immigrated to the United States in 1973. She and her husband Gary, a Vietnam veteran and a retired law enforcement officer, have been married for 35 years. They have four grown children and nine grandchildren.

Story Tools

This Week's
Front Page