The election race for Auburn’s mayor just became a LOT more interesting.  Incumbent Mayor Pete Lewis is running for a third term, and as of Thursday, June 4, 2009, three challengers have emerged to oppose him.  The most interesting of the three, to anyone who follows Auburn politics, is City Councilmember Virginia Haugen.  Haugen has been a long-time vocal critic of Mayor Lewis and the way Lewis and the Council run Auburn. 

She is joined in the race against Lewis by Shelley Erickson, owner of Shelley’s Total Body Works, a tanning and beauty salon in south Auburn, and by Frank Lonergan, an Auburn Locksmith who has served as Treasurer for the Northwest Locksmith Association.

It is well-known that Haugen and Lewis do not see eye-to-eye on many matters related to business development in Auburn.  In October, 2008, Haugen “stormed out” of a Council meeting, later explaining that she believed Mayor Lewis was not being truthful in relation to City involvement in the failed Ace Hardware Project that effectively killed off a historic business that had served Auburn for 114 years. 

This election season in Auburn will be VERY interesting to watch…

 

http://www.nwprogressive.org/weblog/2009/06/filing-week-2009-look-at-whos-filed-in_04.html

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/news/30811219.html

http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/south_king/aub/community/44931842.html

http://mynwla.com/treasurer.html