Logan appointed to Arlington City Council

Heather Logan is the newest Arlington City Council member after being sworn in at the Sept. 7 special meeting of the council.

She fills the seat formally held by Jesica Stickles, who resigned effective Sept. 1 as she was moving away from the town.

The position is up for election in this year’s Nov. 2 general election, however Logan is the only candidate who filed for the seat and the filing deadline has passed.

“Normally the council would do interviews and appoint a successor to a seat, but this time it’s a little bit different just because of the amount of time,” said Paul Ellis, Arlington city administrator.

With less than two months remaining on the term, the council opted to appoint the only candidate to the seat.

“The proper way to take care of this is to temporarily suspend the normal rules of procedure,” said Ellis.

The only way Logan could lose the seat is if a write-in candidate builds a successful opposition campaign, which Ellis said is unlikely.

Logan has been a resident of Arlington for 26 years.

“The town has a wonderful spirit and you can see that in the Fourth of July parade,” she said. “I just admire this city and I love being a part of it.”

She moved to Arlington in 1995 and worked as an administrator for more than two decades at Cascade Valley Hospital.

Logan has two daughters and is married to Sid Logan, a former Arlington School District administrator and a Snohomish PUD Commissioner.

After retiring from the hospital, Logan began communications consulting work and helped with city of Arlington projects, which she realized she enjoyed.

“I thought being a part of city council would be a good way for me to give back,” she said.

When she learned Jesica Stickles was not running again, Logan thought it was time to file for the seat.

“No one was more surprised than me when I found out I was running unopposed,” she said.

One of the biggest issues she hopes to help the city with is the incoming growth, which Logan said city officials need to help guide.

“If you read the city’s Facebook I think you can see that there are a lot of people who are concerned about growth,” said Logan.

Arlington’s growth is likely inevitable, she said.

“Public property rights exist and so if someone wants to sell to Amazon we can’t really stop them, but what we can do is work with them,” said Logan.

With that development coming, Logan hopes to collaborate to improve the community as a whole.

“How can we work with these vendors so that the growth is not just unfettered,” she said.

Another upcoming problem for the city is pandemic benefits coming to an end, said Logan, which could mean more homelessness and more people in need locally.

“I want to see that the city continues to be dedicated to helping our neediest get through this,” said Logan.

“We need to stay committed to the programs that we have begun,” she said, pointing to programs such as the embedded social worker program, mental health social worker program and the domestic violence coordinator.