Voters sent Dave Somers packing in 2001 after one term on the Snohomish County Council in part because pro-development forces made the Democrat’s environmentalism a negative.

And it helped that their ranks included the Robinetts, one of the county’s most politically-active families. They donated a bunch of money to the Republican challenger.

This year, many of those same forces are strongly embracing Somers with contributions to his campaign against Democratic County Executive John Lovick.

And the Robinett family is too, emerging as the single largest source of campaign dollars for a guy they’ve come to trust.

The turnaround reveals the perceived value of a regime change — or at least a rotation of Democratic leaders — to this prominent clan and a collection of builders and investors looking to quicken the pace of Snohomish County’s urbanization.

As of Tuesday, Robinetts had contributed $21,350 from their pockets or through their varied business enterprises. That accounted for about 15 percent of all the money raised by Somers to date.

“It is essential for the future of our county and our ability to create jobs,” explained Hank Robinett, the family’s patriarch who along with his son, Marty, decide where most of the dollars get steered.

For him, it’s now all about the passenger planes. He wants commercial air service at Paine Field, says it’s pivotal to the county’s long-term economic stability and is convinced Somers can get it going sooner than Lovick.

“I was never a favorite of Dave Somers,” he said, referring to the nearly $20,000 he and his family spent against Somers in the 2001 and 2005 elections. “He’s changed. He’s more balanced.

“If I can help bring commercial air (service) in for a few thousand dollars, well, that’s where I’m coming from,” he said.

It’s one reason why incumbent Democratic County Councilman Brian Sullivan is a target of the Robinetts this election as well.

In the race for the 2nd District council seat, family members had collectively contributed $9,550 to the campaign of challenger Greg Tisdel, also a Democrat.

In addition, Marty Robinett poured $29,800 into a political committee he created named Snohomish County Forward. That money paid for a batch of anti-Sullivan mailers in the primary.

What’s fueling Marty Robinett’s political ire isn’t exactly clear and he didn’t return calls this week seeking an explanation.

Hank Robinett didn’t venture a guess. He said they talk politics but “I do my thing and he does his thing. We’re not in cahoots.”

If, he said, “you want to look at us in a microscope, well, I’m about commercial air and he’s more vocal on land use.”

Sullivan thinks his vote in March to approve a motocross track in Granite Falls is the point of ignition. The younger Robinett opposed the track.

On Feb. 19, he gave $950 to Sullivan’s re-election campaign. One month later he contributed the same amount to Tisdel then set about creating Snohomish County Forward.

“I met with him early and he supported my campaign. Then comes the vote on the motocross and he spends $30,000 against me,” Sullivan said. “I think it’s personal.”

And a sign of how much a changing of the guard is worth to this family.

Political reporter Jerry Cornfield’s blog, The Petri Dish, is at www.heraldnet.com. Contact him at 360-352-8623; jcornfield@heraldnet.com and on Twitter at @dospueblos