The 1980 Snohomish County Executive special election took place on March 11, 1980, following a primary election on February 5, 1980, to elect the first county executive of Snohomish County, Washington. On November 6, 1979, voters approved a home rule charter that created an elected County Executive and a five-member County Council,[1] abolishing the three-member County Commission as of May 1, 1980.[2]
Four candidates ran in the election: former newspaper editor Willis Tucker, a Democrat; Republican State Representative Gary A. Nelson, perennial candidate John Patric, a Republican; and housewife Louise Saluteen, an independent. In the primary election, Tucker placed first with 47 percent, and Nelson won the Republican nomination over Patric in a landslide, winning 41 percent of the vote to Patric's 4 percent, while Saluteen won 8 percent of the vote.[3]
Tucker ultimately won the general election by a narrow margin, receiving 49 percent of the vote to Nelson's 44 percent and Saluteen's 7 percent, though Republicans won a majority on the County Council.[4]
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