'Cassie Franklin has the heart and skills to be Everett mayor' | A Letter from Phil McConnell

Cassie Franklin is an amazing and dynamic leader; a community asset who has made Everett a stronger and safer city. I enthusiastically support her campaign for mayor of Everett.

Providing great leadership for a rapidly growing city like Everett, with all its complexities and challenges, demands of that leader a wide-ranging set of leadership skills and traits, including: focus, intelligence, integrity, transparency, insightfulness, decisiveness, confidence, accountability, positivity, persistence, and heart.

I recently retired from a career as CEO of a community nonprofit organization. In that capacity, I worked with Cassie on a variety of projects, all geared toward addressing the needs of the most vulnerable of our citizens. I can say unequivocally that Cassie possesses all of the aforementioned leadership skills and many more.

Cassie has a keen mind for understanding the dimensions of complex issues, seeking input from stakeholders and really listening to them, and building a shared vision of a workable plan to move forward. She holds herself and others accountable to ensure success.

She has demonstrated all of those qualities as CEO of Cocoon House, where she oversees nearly 100 employees, a $5 million budget and recently a $12 million capital campaign for new facilities. More importantly, her team has positively transformed the lives of countless youths in our community.

Cassie has such an impressive record of accomplishment in her career because of her substantial technical skills, her people skills, and her heart. She genuinely likes people, appreciates the work they do, and the diverse perspectives they bring to the table. She is a positive, innovative leader, an adept consensus builder, and a tireless worker for others.

Cassie truly is that rare leader with the combination of skills and experience to play a central role in shaping the future of Snohomish County’s largest city. She will provide the leadership required to meet present and future challenges so that the city of Everett and its citizens thrive.

Phil McConnell

Vote in Everett’s general election by November 7th. Ballots will be mailed in mid-October. Contribute here.