Dozens of people attended a campaign kickoff at Lynnwood’s Peace of Mind Brewing recently to show their support for Lynnwood City Council candidate Nick Coelho. Owner of Lynnwood business Around The Table, Coelho is seeking the Position 4 seat now held by Jim Smith.

Attendees included friends, family and other supporters who said they appreciated Coelho’s focus on action and growth in Lynnwood. One of these attending was current Lynnwood City Councilmember George Hurst. who said he supported Coelho and would be voting for him. 

Coehlo has run for city council twice before, losing to Hurst in 2019 and to Shirley Sutton in 2021.

Two of Coelho’s supporters took the opportunity to express why they were supporting him. 

Jared Mead, a Snohomish County Councilmember representing the 4th District, described Coelho as thoughtful and nuanced in his policy decisions. He talked enthusiastically about Coelho’s eagerness to dive deep on the issues important to Lynnwood and put in the work to have productive discussion. 

Naz Lashgari, a member of the Lynnwood Planning Commission and former chair of the city’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Commission, talked about her experience meeting Coelho in 2019, when they ran together on a platform of moving Lynnwood forward to the future.

“In the last four years, Lynnwood has not moved forward but it seems to be moving backward,” Lashgari said. “We’re electing the same people over and over again and they’re there for their own personal gain. Name recognition has become the tool to keep getting reelected. I’m here to say, if you want change you have to change the people we elect. We need to elect Nick Coelho and have him in Position 4.

Following Lashgari and Mead, Coelho spoke about his vision for Lynnwood’s future.

“I’m tired of our city’s promise and potential slipping right between our fingertips,” he said. “I’m tired of seeing short-sighted distractions take precedence over long-term vision and action.”

Coelho spoke about his most recent campaign, noting that although he did not win, he did win over undecided voters by a 2-to-1 ratio and sent a message by running a carbon-neutral campaign. 

“What I love most about Lynnwood is that it’s always changing,” he said. “Change is part of the city’s DNA unlike any other place I’ve ever been. I’m tired of hearing about how change sucks; change can be really good. He then reinforced the importance of forward-thinking leadership during a crucial time in Lynnwood, when a new downtown area is being built near the Lynnwood Link light rail station scheduled to open in 2024.

For more information about Coelho’s campaign, visit www.nickforlynnwood.com.