2025 Election Features: Paula Rhyne for District 2 Representative

We are continuing our series featuring candidates running in the 2025 election for Everett city council and mayor. We are asking each candidate to share their thoughts on four hot topics that affect Everett residents and want to help the public get informed and involved in the election before they are opening their pamphlets for the primaries in a few months.

Paula Rhyne is running for reelection in City Council District 2. For more information please visit her website: https://www.paula4everett.com/

Paula is running against Ryan Crowther and Jonathan Shapiro.

1. Public Safety & Police Staffing: What specific steps would you take to improve public safety in Everett? How do you plan to address the 20+ open positions on the police force and ensure the department is adequately staffed?

Everyone deserves to feel safe in Everett. During my time on Council I have worked to address public safety in a holistic way - it’s not just about reactive policing but proactive community measures that deter crime and give individuals the support that they need to make better life choices. During a second term I will continue to lead on the development of CPTED (Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design) policies, support technology-forward programs like the Flock Camera System, and also work with community partners to address mental and behavioral health issues.

Everett Police Department has 220 positions for officers and we tend to run at about 20 vacancies due to natural attrition, retirements, etc. While our Everett Police Department boasts an excellent team and a strong reputation, like many agencies nationwide, we're navigating a challenging workforce pipeline. We are proactively addressing this through dedicated recruitment, retention, and training efforts. We're committed to supporting our exceptional officers and ensuring our department is adequately staffed to keep Everett safe.

2. Homelessness Crisis: What policies or initiatives do you believe the city should implement to improve housing stability and address root causes of homelessness?

To improve housing stability and address homelessness, I believe Everett must prioritize both safe, decent, affordable housing and crucial upstream supports that prevent people from falling through the cracks. While our reach as a city has limits, we can significantly impact by implementing smart zoning, leveraging city-owned land for supports, and making targeted investments. Crucially, we must also collaborate closely with our community partners who are on the front lines, offering vital services like rental assistance, job training, and mental health support to put residents on a path to success and long-term stability.

3. City Budget & Revenue: Given Everett’s budget deficit, what alternative revenue sources would you explore to increase city funding without relying on property tax hikes for residents?

The city’s team continues to work hard to spur economic development and growing our tax base but even with this hard work, we will need new reliable revenue to balance upcoming budgets.

I’d like to see targeted levies like a library levy or a parks levy so that voters know exactly what their return on investment will be if approved.

Regionalizing services (i.e. merging with Sno-Isle Library or merging with South County Fire) could be an option as well but I am committed to not making any decisions without input from constituents and the staff who would be impacted by any of these decisions.

4. Bright Spots & Future Vision: What excites you most about Everett’s future? Are there any projects, initiatives, or developments that you believe will have a particularly positive impact on the community?

As co-chair of our council’s Parks & Built Environment Committee I’ve directed our work this year to include addressing vacancies in our downtown core.

As a team we are working to identify vacancies and coordinate with building owners and business owners to get a better understanding of the barriers to filling those vacancies. After that base level of understanding, our committee will work to establish policies to help fill those vacancies, or to hold bad actors accountable. I’ve been hearing for years that Everett is on the verge of a renaissance and I believe that with the convergence of light rail, a new stadium, and revitalizing our downtown, that renaissance may finally be within reach.