Member of Legislature will run for Whatcom County executive
State Rep. Alicia Rule is running for Whatcom County executive, the second announced challenger to Satpal Sidhu in the Aug. 1 primary.
Rule, D-Blaine, made her announcement Monday in an emailed statement that addressed housing, homelessness, public safety and taxes.
“Homelessness has long been a crisis, and the county isn’t stepping up to the plate. I’ve dedicated my career to caring for the most vulnerable among us, and I will bring that compassion and understanding to implement solutions that transition people out of parks, streets, alleys and right-of-ways and into housing,” Rule said in her statement.
She is one of two House members who represent the 42nd Legislative District, which covers the northern neighborhoods of Bellingham and Whatcom County north of Bellingham.
If Rule advances to the Nov. 7 general election and wins, she would resign her legislative seat, Rule told The Bellingham Herald.
“Upon winning the election I plan to be our full-time Whatcom County executive,” Rule said in an email.
Members of the state Legislature can hold concurrent nonpartisan elected positions, and at least two legislators have done so, according to previous Herald reporting.
Rule would be the second woman to hold the county executive’s post. Shirley Van Zanten was elected in 1983 and re-elected in 1987 and again in 1991, according to Whatcom County Auditor’s Office voting records.
The filing period for the Aug. 1 primary opened Monday and ends at 4:30 p.m. Friday.
Whatcom County Executive Satpal Sidhu has said he intends to seek re-election, and County Councilman Barry Buchanan also has said he will seek the office.
Both Sidhu and Buchanan are Democrats, even though the office is nonpartisan.
Under Washington state rules, only the two candidates with the most votes will advance to the Nov. 8 general election.
Rule, who was elected to the state House in 2020 and re-elected in November 2022, is a social worker and a therapist with a private practice in downtown Bellingham.
She’s also a former member of the Blaine City Council and founder and former head of the Blaine Downtown Development Association.
This story was originally published May 15, 2023 at 1:10 PM.
