EVERETT — Everett Mayor, Cassie Franklin, eulogized long-time City Councilman, Paul Roberts, who died on June 24. Franklin spoke effusively as she delivered her recollections of Roberts during Wednesday’s Everett City Council meeting:
“It’s with heavy heart that I share the passing of our former council member, Paul Roberts. Paul deeply believed in public service and the power of local government to improve people’s lives. He served on our city council for 16 years and on the Everett School Board.
Plus, he represented our community on regional boards, including Sound Transit and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. He spent more than 15 years leading the city’s Planning and Community Development Department. He worked for the city of Marysville, served as Chief of staff for U.S. Representative, Norm Dicks, and worked for Representative Rick Larsen to support the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act.
He also played a crucial role in bringing Naval Station Everett to Everett. He supported Boeing’s expansion and later championed our city’s very first climate action plan. One thing about Paul is he would always do his homework. He had the experience and wisdom to know the right questions to ask as we shape policy, and he helped make everyone around him better because of it.
Beyond his accomplishments, Paul genuinely loved Everett. He was very much a Renaissance man, a musician, a supporter of the arts, a devoted husband and father. He never stopped thinking about how to make our community stronger and better prepared for the future. In recent years, Paul had a regular column in the Everett Herald, sharing his thoughts on climate change.
His final comment column, his 51st, was published just this week. In a past interview with the Harold, Paul shared a Greek proverb that beautifully reflects the way he lived his life: ‘A society grows great when old men plant trees in who’s shade they shall never sit.’ Paul planted countless trees in Everett.
You see them in the community, he helped shape. In Naval Station Everett. Which he helped secure. And the progress we’ve made to get Light Rail here. And in the countless decisions he influenced through decades of very thoughtful public service. He left his mark on our city and future generations will continue to benefit from his vision and work.
We will be honoring Paul’s legacy in a couple of ways. First, we will be dedicating this summer’s Street Tunes program to him, including rolling out a new piano in his honor, decorated by the dance school. And this fall, we will plant a few trees in his honor. And those trees will be planted at Legion Park and we’ll let you know the date of those plantings.
On behalf of the city of Everett, I extend our deepest condolences to Marianne, their children, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing and working with Paul. Paul believed that public service was about leaving your community better than you found it, and he certainly did that. By that measure, few have given more to Everett than councilmember Paul Roberts, and we will miss him.”
U.S. Congressman Rick Larsen posted on his Facebook page, this tribute to Roberts, “Paul Roberts was instrumental in making Everett the city it is today. Paul was one of the kindest, most dedicated and hardworking people I have ever known. From a deep passion for protecting our cherished environment, to his foresight on bringing the naval base to Everett, Paul was the embodiment of what a lifelong public servant is. Even after leaving the City Council, he continued his work in public service for my office, ensuring that local communities benefited from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Paul Roberts was a great friend, and my thoughts are with Marianne and the rest of the Roberts family during this difficult time.”
Roberts’s family disclosed that he died after a health battle with cancer.