1983 Snohomish County Executive election

1983 Snohomish County Executive election
	November 8, 1983
County Executive before election; Willis Tucker; Democratic	Elected County Executive ; Willis Tucker; Democratic

The 1983 Snohomish County Executive election took place on November 8, 1983, to elect the county executive of Snohomish County, Washington. Incumbent Democratic County Executive Willis Tucker ran for re-election to a second term. As the first county executive, Tucker was tasked with reorganizing county government, and internal party opposition to his reorganization scheme prompted an intra-party challenge. Three Democratic opponents ran against him, and his leading opponent was businessman Court Sheehan.^[1]

However, despite facing opposition from the local Democratic establishment, Tucker placed first in the primary by a wide margin, winning 40 percent of the vote to Sheehan's 32 percent. Republican Larry Countryman, a Snohomish City Councilman, placed third with 21 percent of the vote and advanced to the general election against Tucker.^[2] Tucker ultimately defeated Countryman in a landslide, winning 58 percent of the vote.^[3]

Primary election

Candidates

Willis Tucker, incumbent County Executive (Democratic)^[4]
Court Sheehan, businessman (Democratic)^[5]
Larry Countryman, Snohomish City Councilman^[6]
Paul Roberts, retired Teamster^[1]
John Patric, perennial candidate^[1]

Results

Blanket primary results^[7]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Willis Tucker	13,175	40.23%
	Democratic	Court Sheehan	10,319	31.51%
	Republican	Larry Countryman	6,977	21.30%
	Democratic	Paul Roberts	1,576	4.81%
	Democratic	John Patric	705	2.15%
Total votes			32,752	100.00%

General election

Results

1983 Snohomish County Executive election^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Willis Tucker (inc.)	56,756	58.28%
	Republican	Larry Countryman	39,194	41.72%
Total votes			93,950	100.00%
	Democratic hold

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Nelson, Robert T. (September 18, 1983). "Executive's race turning into a real free-for-all". The Everett Herald. p. 3A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Nelson, Robert T. (September 21, 1983). "Top official in county gets spot on ballot". The Everett Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Nelson, Robert T. (November 9, 1983). "County voters send executive back to office". The Everett Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tucker running for re-election to county-executive position". The Everett Herald. April 14, 1983. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Businessman announces for county executive". The Everett Herald. July 31, 1983. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Nelson, Robert T. (November 6, 1983). "Contributions, spending lopsided in race for county exec". The Everett Herald. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "OFFICIAL PRIMARY 1983 RESULTS". Snohomish County Auditor. Retrieved July 31, 2025.
^ "OFFICIAL 1983 GENERAL ELECTION CANVASS". Snohomish County Auditor. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

[free_for_all-1] Nelson, Robert T. (September 18, 1983). "Executive's race turning into a real free-for-all". The Everett Herald. p. 3A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[2] Nelson, Robert T. (September 21, 1983). "Top official in county gets spot on ballot". The Everett Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] Nelson, Robert T. (November 9, 1983). "County voters send executive back to office". The Everett Herald. p. 1A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Tucker running for re-election to county-executive position". The Everett Herald. April 14, 1983. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Businessman announces for county executive". The Everett Herald. July 31, 1983. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[6] Nelson, Robert T. (November 6, 1983). "Contributions, spending lopsided in race for county exec". The Everett Herald. p. 4A. Retrieved July 31, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.

[7] "OFFICIAL PRIMARY 1983 RESULTS". Snohomish County Auditor. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

[8] "OFFICIAL 1983 GENERAL ELECTION CANVASS". Snohomish County Auditor. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

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