EVERETT: Snohomish County Executive John Lovick has announced a change at the top of his administration.Lovick said he had accepted the resignation of Deputy Executive Mark Ericks, effective. In Ericks’ place as second-in-command, the executive promoted Lenda Crawford, the next-highest-ranking official in his administration.
“With Lenda assuming her new responsibilities as Deputy Executive, I look forward to meeting with department heads and other elected officials to gather input on how the Executive Office can best collaborate with each of them to better serve our residents,” Lovick said in a prepared statement. Ericks was part of the incoming team when Lovick was appointed executive in mid-2013, following the resignation of Aaron Reardon.
To join the county, Ericks left a job as the presidentially appointed U.S. marshal for the Western District of Washington. A Democrat, he also had served as an elected House member from Washington’s 1st District. His law enforcement career included time as Bothell’s police chief and as a Bellevue homicide detective.At the county, Ericks was a fierce supporter of Lovick, his long time friend, but clashed with most County Council members.
The relationship became poisonous over the past year.Ericks has been the subject of a workplace investigation into comments toward council members, including a reference to shooting someone “if it wasn’t for jail time.”That investigation found no evidence that Ericks seriously intended to harm anyone, but it did document a propensity toward letting loose in public with intemperate comments.
