“It’s frustrating,” said Bothell City Councilman Patrick Ewing. “There seems to be a majority block on council … that’s not moving in the direction the community wants.”

Ewing is being challenged in the Nov. 3 election by first-time candidate Jennifer Armenta, who said Ewing often seems to be in conflict with the remainder of the council, sort of on the outside looking in.

“Frankly, Mr. Ewing seems more and more polarized,” she said, stating Ewing often takes a stand but only rarely sways the rest of the city’s legislators.

Armenta further claimed Ewing has skipped votes or voted “no” on important issues citing a lack of information. At the same time, she argued the city administration regularly supplies councilmembers with what she considers more than sufficient background materials even prior to council sessions.

“I, for one, will do my homework,” Armenta said.

But if Armenta isn’t happy with how she sees Ewing conducting council business, Ewing isn’t necessarily happy with the operations of council as a whole.

Ewing said during discussions of various issues, each councilmember gets his or her six minutes “on the stopwatch” to make points and ask questions. Once the time is up, so is any discussion. He contends that rigid procedure doesn’t encourage much debate.

Ewing contrasted what he sees as council’s approach to that of the planning commission, which he said often spends two or three meetings on important issues.

“Council moves much more quickly,” he added, not always, in his opinion, just because they have more on their plate than the lower body. Ewing also feels council has usurped some of the review responsibilities of the planning commission. As an example, he said pieces of the downtown plan never were presented to the commission.

Having served on council for what will be eight years, Ewing said he’d like to be around when the body reviews the city’s comprehensive plan in 2011. He said council is required to update that document every seven years and Ewing said he enjoyed having input into the last review process. He described Bothell as a unique community, with its own special feel and charm.

“We’re not Lynnwood, we’re not Bellevue, we’re Bothell,” Ewing said, implying the right comprehensive plan will help maintain what is unique about the city.

Armenta also talked about what she said were the special qualities of the city, saying they largely were what prompted her to run. She when she first moved here, she enjoyed her neighborhood so much she became involved with her local homeowner’s association.

As the election has progressed, the plan to redevelop downtown has continued to be a common topic of discussion.

“I feel pretty good about the project,” Armenta said, adding she just doesn’t want the city to go broke bringing that plan to fruition. She said one issue that needs to be settled is the future of the currently closed Northshore Pool.

Ewing also talked about “not breaking the bank” in redoing the downtown and, without prompting, also mentioned officials need to make some decision regarding the pool. Ewing further contends council failed to take sufficient action regarding mass transit routes through the planned new development. But perhaps most notably, he argued some of the zoning put in place “is wide open” and city officials will need to keep a close eye on what is built.

Moving onto another topic that has attracted plenty of attention during the current elections, Ewing said he voted against the controversial health-care package council gave themselves a few years ago. He said he tried several times to alter that package, with no success.

Also moving away from the downtown, Armenta talked about paying a bit more attention to the Canyon Park and Thrasher’s Corner areas of Bothell. She said City Hall needs to do what it can to protect the Northshore Senior Center and promote what she called the excellence of the Northshore School District.

“I think I’m a pretty well-known quantity on council,” Ewing said, adding he intends to continue focusing on what the community really wants for the city.

“I would just like to see something different,” Armenta said. “I believe I’m the right candidate.”