The Lynnwood City Council is scheduled to revisit conversations on retail cannabis sales and residency requirements at its work session Monday, withboth topics having sparked past debate among the council and community.
Retail sale of cannabis is illegal in the city of Lynnwood, and has been since the drug was legalized statewide in 2012. Since then, councilmembers have tried multiple times to repeal the ban, but were unsuccessful.
In September, Councilmember George Hurst made a second attempt to direct staff to look into removing the ban. The council approved the motion and city staff came back in April with recommendations on how the council could go about repealing it.
City Business and Development staff estimate the council could vote on whether to remove the ban by late September. On Monday, the council is to continue discussing the matter and laying out the logistics.
In other business, the council will address residency requirements for councilmembers. An October 2023 eviction, coupled with an Everett address Council Vice President Josh Binda used on financial and federal candidacy documents, caused Lynnwood residents and councilmembers to question whether he lived in the city. Furthermore, the Snohomish County Auditor’s office deemed Binda’s voter registration “inactive” in December 2024 after attempts to verify the Lynnwood address when his registration bounced back in the mail.
As a result, some members of the public called for Binda’s resignation, and the council discussed potentially changing city code to clarify residency requirements for elected officials. Councilmembers are scheduled to discuss the matter again Monday.
Lynnwood’s Municipal Code doesn’t specifically mention residency requirements to hold elected office in the city. Upon declaration of candidacy, state law requires individuals to be a resident of said city for at least a year and legally registered to vote there. An elected position becomes vacant when the official ceases to be a legally registered voter in the city they represent, the law said.
Binda said he maintained his residency in Lynnwood, but he lived with family members after being evicted and used his father’s Everett address on his documents for safety reasons.
On March 29. Binda updated his voter registration to a new apartment in Lynnwood. His voter registration is currently active, according to the state voter registration database. That same day a hearing was held after a Lynnwood resident filed a challenge to Binda’s voter registration. County Auditor Garth Fell dismissed the challenge for logistical reasons.
For the hearing, Binda provided as evidence of Lynnwood residency his cell phone bill and a pay stub listing the same address as his prior, inactive voter registration. He also provided a renters insurance certificate – under his father’s name – for the apartment on his current registration. However, Binda has yet to provide proof of address between his eviction in late 2023 and February 2025. Read more on the hearing here.
The full council agenda can be found on the city’s website.
The meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday, May 5 at Lynnwood City Hall: 19100 44th Ave. W. The meeting will also be live streamed on the city’s website and Zoom.
— Contact Ashley at ashley@myedmondsnews.com.
Please stop picking on Josh Binda. A member of the public and/or council and/or local paper has had it in for Binda since before he was elected. Why is this continuing? Their recall effort failed. He has been fined for various campaign finance mistakes and belatedly paid them. He has been officially exonerated. He is a young person, inexperienced in political nuances, and I bet there’s a lot of fine print involved in throwing your hat in the ring and showing up to run. He could have used a mentor and/or attorney but likely couldn’t afford one.
Concerning residency requirements, they are admittedly vague. And we know how expensive it is to start renting an apartment. Many Lynnwood citizens have had financial difficulties resulting from the pandemic. Should he be kicked out of the Council because he needs help from his father — to stay with him in Everett or cosign an apartment lease in Lynnwood? If you pay bills related to your lodging, how often do you need to physically be there? What about people who travel for a living?
Josh Binda will be running for re-election soon. If news reporting is unbiased so the citizens of Lynnwood have good factual information about him, and they think he’s done a bad job, they will vote him out of office. Please stop revisiting the past and take note of the positive things he’s trying to do for Lynnwood, especially helping its youth. Please give him a break and assume he has good intentions.
Is it picking on Josh Binda to expect that he meets his ethical and legal obligations as a city councilman? Public finance rules serve an important purpose in ensuring good governance.