Former Snohomish County Councilman and Chairman Dave Somers has had four years to consider how he narrowly lost his seat to Jeff Sax, giving Republicans control of the county government.

He's ready for a rematch, he says. And this time, Somers believes the odds are in his favor.

Somers has resounding support from state Democrats, while Sax has faced criticism for what some consider a developer-friendly stance on growth management during his term in office.

But standing in the way of a Somers-Sax rematch is Democrat Steve Hobbs, who will face Somers in Tuesday's primary election and has the backing of county Executive Aaron Reardon.

"Lately, everyone sitting on the 5th District seat has only been there for one term," Hobbs said. "They're either on the extreme right or extreme left."

He points to Sax's vulnerability following four years of service, and to Somers, who only served four years before that and shouldered blame for much of what was wrong at the county level. Before Somers, there was Democrat R.C. "Swede" Johnson, who stormed in on the Democratic ticket despite little party support.

With history on his side, Hobbs says anything is possible this election. Somers acknowledges his focus has been on the primary instead of the general election.

"Having to run a primary benefits Jeff Sax," Somers said. "I have to spend money and that's not good, but I feel extremely positive about my chances."

While Somers has raised about $60,000, he's only spent about $25,000 on his primary campaign. Hobbs has spent almost the same, the only difference being that's about all he's raised.

With equal footing, the two must push their platforms, each agrees.

For Somers, it's a return to the stance he took four years ago: new growth must pay higher mitigation fees.

"People in the county want to see traffic addressed," he said, adding that traffic is tied to new growth. "While I was on Council, mitigation fees were raised."

Somers also believes more control should be placed on that growth. "Really, the environmental message is that we can accommodate people while we're protecting salmon runs."

Hobbs takes a different approach. He says the key to a strong county is continuing to develop new economic resources. At the county level, not enough is done to promote tourism, Hobbs said. It's an industry relatively untapped but ripe with income for the plucking.

"By boosting the tourism industry, we create more jobs in terms of small-business growth," Hobbs said.

Both see the Republican stronghold on the Council as a threat to the future of county farming. Hobbs says local farming adds close to $125 million to the county's economy. Somers says alternatives such as a biogas generator project in Monroe produce ways to keep farming viable and the environment clean.

Sax says he has no preference when it comes to a challenger. Having raised about $150,000, he's ready to run on the issues, he said, and he can do that against either Somers or Hobbs.

Also in Tuesday's primary are two other Democrats vying for a chance to run against Republican Councilman John Koster for the District 1 seat. Former Marysville City Councilwoman Suzanne Smith is favored over Marian Harrison, a community advocate from Marysville. Tom Foster of Stanwood withdrew from the race.

Christopher Schwarzen: 425-783-0577 or cschwarzen@seattletimes.com