November: A Letter from Our HDSA President

There are so many things I could write about! The election, Halloween, Winterfest, and how the end of Daylight Savings Time is the worst (I would MUCH rather prefer it being dark in the morning than at 3-4:00 in the afternoon – just saying). The only thing I would like to say about the election is the following: 

I would like to extend a heartfelt expression of gratitude to our mayor Linda Redmon and council member Karen Guzak who lost their campaigns for re-election. I know both of them personally and know of their goodness and passion for our community. They are wonderful people and deserve all our thanks – even from those who voted for their opponents. I would also like to extend a heartfelt congratulations to Aaron Hoffman, Tom Merrill, David Flynn, Gabe Jacobs, and Anup Deol for their elections/re-elections to Mayor and City Council. I know almost all of them personally and can say that they are all good people with a sincere desire to serve our community. They all deserve and will need our support – even from those who voted for their opponents.  We are better when we work together for our common good.  

For the rest of my message, I'd like to share some data to help our community and stakeholders know the impact of your support. These numbers are based on self-reported data from a number of our downtown businesses. Here it goes! Collectively, our historic downtown district employs over 1,000 people! Of a town of roughly only 10,400 people, that’s around 20% of our workforce that is employed down here! That’s a lot of people and, based on average self-reported wages, we estimate that the total annual payroll by our downtown businesses is about $30,000,000. We had to double triple check that math, but those are the numbers! And where does that $30,000,000 go? After taxes, that money goes right into the homes and families of our employees and business owners who then support their children, our non-profits, and other local businesses.  

It wasn’t too long ago when we only could shop local. But in the age of the Internet and big box retail, we all have so many choices of where to shop. Why does it matter? Money circulation matters to all of us. The more circulation there is locally, the better that is for our schools, property values, job opportunities, retail options, restaurant choices, and reducing poverty. When you shop local, and I’ve done the math for my own store to validate these numbers, 68 cents for every dollar you spend stays in Snohomish. When you shop online, only the local taxes stay local. And when you shop at a big box store, it’s anywhere from only 13% to 15% of the purchase that stays local. As nice as it is to have options, online shopping and big box stores do not support our neighbors, ourselves, and our present and future community even remotely as well as a successful local business does.  

Not only is the Historic Downtown District the heart and soul of the city of Snohomish, but it’s the backbone as well. Our community is what it is because of small businesses that help to make this place unique, always new, and a place to come back to again and again. We hope you will remember us and invest in your future by shopping local this holiday season. 

-Ken Coman

HDSA Board President