Endorsements are coming in fast and heavy for the two candidates in the race to be Langley’s next mayor.

A slew of former elected officials, and at least one current city council member, have endorsed Thomas Gill, who is just finishing up his second term on the city council.

Meanwhile, his opponent Kennedy Horstman, the chairperson for the city’s Dismantling Systemic Racism Commission, has received endorsements from the Sierra Club, Marianne Edain’s Politiblog and Island County Democrats, who have designated her as “preferred” candidate. The majority of current city council members, such as Craig Cyr, Gail Fleming and Rhonda Salerno, have also shown their support.

In a statement, Salerno said Kennedy knows a great deal about the workings of city hall, has been a volunteer in different capacities over the years and has been attending city council meetings, budget sessions and has completed numerous trainings from the Municipal Research and Services Center and the Association of Washington Cities, two nonprofits focused on local government.

“She has the leadership experience, organizational skills and academic capacity that it takes to juggle the very important job of the mayor,” Salerno wrote. “I can sincerely say that I have never known anyone more able to observe, contemplate and offer a clear, thoughtful response in any situation than Kennedy. Most of all, what I really admire most about Kennedy Horstman is her honesty and integrity, traits that stand out in everything she pursues. I so look forward to working under her leadership.”

Gill’s endorsements include former city council members Bruce Allen, Ursula Shoudy, Robin Black and Hal Seligson. Tim Callison, Langley’s former mayor, also provided an endorsement, as did Harolynne Bobis, the only current council member to do so. Though she displayed yard signs for both candidates, Bobis recently decided it was time to take a stand.

In her statement endorsing Gill, Bobis pointed out most of the city council, and even the mayor, were all brand-new to serving in office in 2022.

“As new members, we experienced a learning curve which came at the expense of, in my opinion, getting more of our priorities completed,” she wrote. “I don’t think Langley can take that chance at this time with another untested city official. Thomas is someone I can rely on for accurate institutional information which helps me make better decisions. He is honest, forthright, and has a great deal of common sense.”

Scott Chaplin, Langley’s current mayor who was appointed in 2021, declined to endorse either candidate and said he thought it would be inappropriate to do so.

“I’m just endorsing Scott Chaplin for city council, he’s not too bad,” he quipped.