PORT ANGELES — Filing week is a wrap, with 12 offices in Clallam County and 10 offices in Jefferson County that will be contested.
Only four of those offices in Clallam County, and one in Jefferson County, have three or more candidates. In the Aug. 5 primary, voters will determine which two candidates will advance to the Nov. 4 general election.
Anyone wishing to withdraw must file by end of business day Monday, or their name will appear on the ballot.
There are a total of 48 open positions in Clallam County and 42 open positions in Jefferson County.
Clallam County
Thirty-two offices in Clallam County have one candidate and four offices have no candidates.
Corey Pearson and Armistead Coleman II will run for Forks City Council, position 5, a two-year unexpired term.
Pearson, who has worked as a consultant and now offers nutritional guidance and counsel to individuals, said she decided to run to help Forks with some “pretty significant challenges” it is facing.
She cited poverty, inflated prices during tourist season, homelessness and immigration concerns.
“I’m looking for how we can strengthen the heartbeat of our community,” she said. “How are we going to balance the inequities in our community now that we’re moving towards more of a tourism-based revenue source?”
Coleman, who works as a gunsmith, said he decided to run as a way to get involved in the community.
“There are too many people complaining, but not enough people taking action,” he said.
Incumbent LaTrisha Suggs, Gilbert Hall and James Taylor will run for Port Angeles City Council, position 1, a four-year term.
During the campaign, Suggs said she plans to highlight the city’s successes since she joined the council – things like increased diversity of housing stock and the waiving of permit fees.
In addition, she said she plans to build a strong relationship with state Public Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove in an effort to continue to advocate for protection of the Elwha watershed, the city’s sole water source.
Hall, a general contractor and military retiree, said his 30-plus years of military service would bring a unique understanding to the council.
“I would like to bring non-partisan back to the city council and focus on making Port Angeles better for everyone,” he said.
Incumbent Drew Schwab and challenger Tyler Slater will run for Port Angeles City Council, position 2, a four-year term.
Schwab, who ran uncontested in his last race, said he is glad this race is contested. He has lobbied the state to increase competition for local offices by removing specific positions — meaning all candidates would run for every seat that is open, and the top candidates would win those seats.
If re-elected this year, Schwab said he would focus on affordable housing, homelessness and decreasing economic dependence on the public sector.
Slater is a systems administrator for 7 Cedars Casino and Resort in Blyn. He said he decided to run because he feels “it is my civic duty to help make the community I live in a better place.”
Incumbent Kate Dexter, Ralph Davisson and Mimi Smith Dvorak will run for Port Angeles City Council, position 4, a four-year term.
Davisson, a self-employed landscaper, said he chose to run after witnessing some decisions made by the current council, which made it feel “like their priorities aren’t dedicated towards the people.”
Realizing he was looking at the situation with an outside view, he said he decided the best way to learn about the process and was to run for office.
“You can’t really learn to swim if you never get in the water,” he said.
Some of Davisson’s goals, if elected, would be to mitigate unnecessary spending and push for local contracts. With that as his platform, he said he will not be investing any money into his campaign and will not be pushing for donations, either.
“I’d rather people spend the money on themselves and the people they care about,” he said.
Dexter and Dvorak could not be reached for comment.
Incumbent Colleen McAleer and challenger Nate Adkisson will run for Port of Port Angeles commissioner, district 1, a four-year term.
McAleer said she plans to focus on the port’s future plans, including building stronger partnerships and leveraging opportunities.
“I’m proud of the work that the port has done over the last decade, but especially the last few years,” McAleer said.
Adkisson could not be reached for comment.
Incumbent Steve Burke and challenger Allen Sawyer will run for Port of Port Angeles commissioner, district 2, a four-year term.
Burke, who has been a commissioner since 2016, said this will be his first contested race.
“I think it’s great that there’s people interested and willing to participate in local government,” Burke said.
In his campaign, he plans to focus on what the port has achieved during the past nine years.
Sawyer, a self-employed housing provider, said having two candidates on the ballot “might alleviate many voters’ concerns that, oftentimes, there is only once choice presented for some elected positions on our ballots.”
The reasons why he chose to run are “a bit complex,” he said, noting that his statement in the voters’ pamphlet will explain in more depth.
Incumbent Mary Hebert and challenger Nancy Hamilton will run for Port Angeles School District director, position 2, a four-year term.
“I’ve had a successful four-year term,” Hebert said, noting that she was excited to continue working on the planned school upgrades that voters recently approved.
Her top priorities include student growth and supporting staff.
Hamilton, who has served in the army and currently works as the community liaison for the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, said, “as a parent, I live the impact of school decisions every day.”
The school board currently doesn’t have a member who has students in the district, something Hamilton wants to change.
“I want to make sure parents are truly heard when policies are made,” she said.
Incumbent Ann Marie Henninger and challenger Gerald Stephanz, Jr., are running for Hospital District 2 commissioner, position 1, a six-year term.
Stephanz, who unsuccessfully applied for position 7 when previous commissioner Phyllis Bernard vacated it in January, said his “views and experiences are a bit different than the current board of commissioners.”
As a doctor who ran his own practice in the past, Stephanz said he understands the business aspect of a practice. He also said he is concerned about the hospital’s finances and thinks Olympic Medical Center should try to maintain local control, if possible.
“I have the clinical, business and hospital experience that a lot of the hospital commissioners don’t have, and I think that will be helpful as we go forward,” he said.
Henninger could not be reached for comment.
Tara Coffin and Carleen Bensen will run for Hospital District 2 commissioner, position 4, a six-year term. Bertha Cooper has withdrawn, and Laurie Force withdrew and refiled for position 7.
Bensen, who has lived here since 1992 and has worked with or for the hospital that whole time, said, “I feel like I know the area, I know the issues, I know the patients, and I want to make sure that we have a functional, good hospital for the people in the area.”
She also has advocated for healthcare policies at the state and national levels.
Coffin could not be reached for comment.
Incumbent Penney Sanders, Mic Sager and Laurie Force will run for Hospital District 2 commissioner, position 7, a two-year unexpired term. Corlene Eberle has withdrawn.
Sanders, who was appointed to the term in March after Bernard resigned, said she wants to complete the two-year term, “because I always like to finish what I started.”
Through the rest of the term, Sanders said the hospital will be making important decisions regarding alliances and partnerships and the financial stabilization of the hospital.
“One of my biggest concerns is ensuring that we have comprehensive care here,” Sanders said.
Force is a retired nurse practitioner who volunteers at the Olympic Peninsula Community Clinic. She said she is running for commissioner out of concern for the “severe financial strain” that Olympic Medical Center is facing.
“These challenges threaten access to care for our entire community,” she said in a candidate statement. “Particularly our most vulnerable neighbors.”
Sager could not be reached for comment.
Incumbent Sarah Methner, Ned Hammar, Kim Butler and Ruth Replogle will run for Port Angeles School District director, position 1, a four-year term.
Methner said her campaign will focus on the district’s accomplishments over the last 15 years, including ending this year with a balanced budget, working with legislators to advocate for more special education funding, building a strategic plan and passing a capital levy and bond.
“I think my record speaks for itself,” she said.
Hammar, a family medicine doctor who has two children in the district, said he first considered running for school board after he learned about the conditions that paraeducators and teachers face.
“I thought the administration and the school board were doing a valiant effort to piece together a sustainable situation for teachers and kids, against a backdrop of state funding constraints and a bunch of kind of historic ways in which rural school districts face additional challenges above urban school districts,” he said.
If he is elected, issues at the top of his mind include the epidemic of loneliness, social media and cell phone use and continuing to build on the district’s strengths.
Butler, who is retired, said her focus would be to come up with unique solutions to solve problems and ensure children are “provided the best education possible.”
Replogle could not be reached for comment.
Incumbent Bill Miano and challenger Mike Taggart will run for Fire District 3 commissioner, position 3, a six-year term.
Miano said one of the chief concerns facing the fire district is “how do we continue to meet the demand, and with what money?”
Since he’s served as commissioner, he said the district has seen a rapidly increasing demand for services, which is “handcuffed by the Washington 1 percent tax increase.”
Taggart, who is retired, has served as a fire commissioner in Clark County and in California. He also served as a volunteer ranger for the U.S. Forest Service for 25 years.
“I can bring a lot of experience,” he said.
The offices that only had one candidate include:
• Incumbent Tim Fletcher for Forks City Council Mayor, a four-year term.
• Vilkesh Patel for Forks City Council, position 1, a two-year unexpired term.
• Kaylan Kimball for Forks City Council, position 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Joe Soha for Forks City Council, position 3, a four-year term.
• Mark Hodgson for Port Angeles City Council, position 3, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Kelly Burger for Sequim City Council, position 1, a two-year unexpired term.
• A. Pete Tjemsland for Sequim City Council, position 3, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Rachel Anderson for Sequim City Council, position 4, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Brandon Janisse for Sequim City Council, position 5, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Nicole Hartman for Sequim City Council, position 7, a two-year unexpired term.
• Incumbent Paige Pearson for Hospital District 1 commissioner, position 1, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Sandy Middleton for Crescent School District director, position 1, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Joey Currie for Crescent School District director, position 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Melinda Avrett for Crescent School District director, position 3, an unexpired two-year term.
• Incumbent Patrice Johnston for Sequim School District director, district 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Maren Halvorsen for Sequim School District director at large, position 4, a four-year term
• Incumbent Janine Ledford for Cape Flattery School District director, district 1, a four-year term.
• Incumbent LeAnne Fletcher for Cape Flattery School District director, district 3, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Kevin Hinchen for Quillayute Valley School District director, district 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Ron Hurn for Quillayute Valley School District director, district 4, a four-year term.
• Incumbent William Henderson for Fire District 1 commissioner, position 1, a four-year unexpired term.
• Incumbent John Buonpane for Fire District 1 commissioner, position 4, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Steve Hopf for Fire District 2 commissioner, position 3, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Lynne Kastner for Fire District 4 commissioner, position 5, a six-year term.
• Glen Nicholas III for Fire District 5 commissioner, position 3, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Chip Keen for Fire District 6 commissioner, position 2, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Frank Pickering for Park and Recreation Clallam County District 1 commissioner, position 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Donald Grafstrom for Park and Recreation Quillayute commissioner, position 1, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Susie Brandelius for Park and Recreation Quillayute commissioner, position 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Tyler Maxfield for Park and Recreation Quillayute commissioner, position 4, a two-year unexpired term.
• Stephen Zenovic for Water District Black Diamond commissioner, position 3, a six-year term.
• Gary Jubien for Water District Sunland commissioner, position 1, a six-year term.
A full list of uncontested races can be found at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
No candidates have registered for: Fire District 1 commissioner, position 3; Fire District 4 commissioner, position 3; Park and Recreation Clallam County District 1 commissioner, position 1; Water District Black Diamond commissioner, position 1.
Jefferson County
Eighteen offices in Jefferson County have one candidate and 14 offices have no candidates.
Incumbent Carol Hasse and challenger Clayborn Burleson will run for Port of Port Townsend commissioner, district 2, a four-year term.
“I love my community working waterfront,” Hasse said. “The economy that the marine trades bring to Port Townsend is just a treasure in the world, and I want to do all I can to protect it and be part of it.”
Burleson, who is dissolving his engineering and project management company in an effort to retire, said he is running for commissioner because he believes “the taxpayers, residents and marine tradespeople of the county deserve the most competent leadership that is available.”
Incumbent Matt Ready and challenger Stu Kerber will run for East Jefferson County Hospital District commissioner, position 3, a six-year term.
“I respect anyone that steps up and runs for office,” Ready said of his opponent. “I’m happy to participate in the democratic process, and ready to discuss my record and have a healthy campaign and election experience.”
In his campaign, Ready said he plans to focus on transparency, accountability and honest leadership with integrity – noting he has been fighting for more transparency on a potential partnership with Olympic Medical Center.
Kerber is a partner in a small financial services firm and provides strategic guidance in healthcare finance. While raising his two young boys, he said he realized the importance of community infrastructure and decided to run for public office so he can offer his experience to the community and “ensure critical resources that our community needs continue to flourish.”
Incumbent Jill Buhler-Rienstra and challenger Patty Rhoden will run for East Jefferson County Hospital District commissioner, position 5, a six-year term.
“I think that voters should have a choice,” Buhler-Rienstra said. “My opponent is highly qualified, so I’m happy about that.”
Buhler-Rienstra has 30 years of experience supporting rural healthcare at the local, state and national levels. She sits on the Washington State Hospital Association board and serves on its executive and policy committees.
“I firmly believe that a great healthcare system is the foundation of a thriving community,” Buhler-Rienstra said.
Rhoden, who is running for office for the first time, is a retired hospital executive and current board chair and treasurer of the Jefferson Healthcare Foundation. She said her background will help the hospital continue growing and offering services to the community.
Fred Obee, Dylan Quarles and Mikki Porter will run for Port Townsend City Council, position 1, a four-year term.
Obee, who is retired, said he plans to focus on the city’s aging infrastructure and challenges to affordable housing.
Quarles and Porter could not be reached for comment.
Incumbent Jon Cooke and challenger Naomi Stern will run for Quilcene School District director, district 2, a four-year position.
Cooke, who has a background in education, said he wants to move through the turbulent times and focus on “getting back to educating kids, and using common sense to get kids educated.”
Stern is a finance specialist with Port Townsend, a mother to two Quilcene Elementary students and a regular classroom volunteer. She said she wants “to be able to give back even more.”
On the board, her priorities would be securing funding for educational resources and helping to provide “world-class education while maximizing student scores and supporting our teachers.”
Richard Fitzgerald and Dana Nixon will run for Quilcene School District director at large, position 5, a four-year term.
Incumbent Roxanne Hudson and challenger Donna Pall will run for Chimacum School District director, district 1, a four-year term.
Hudson said she is excited to discuss the issues important to the community and to see a variety of perspectives on the campaign. She plans to focus on talking about past successes in the district, as well as future challenges.
“One of my main goals is to stay focused on the central mission of our district, which is to ensure all students have the skills and knowledge that they need to succeed in life and ensure that all of our students experience equitable learning experiences,” she said.
Pall, a retired pediatric nurse, said “I just want to do something for my community.”
Since she’s spent her whole career working with children, she said, “working with the school board is sort of a no-brainer.”
Amanda Grace and Timothy Hawley will run for Port Townsend School District director at large, position 4, a four-year term.
Incumbent David Seabrook and challenger David Codier will run for East Jefferson Fire District commissioner, district 2, a six-year term.
Seabrook, who has been a commissioner since 2018, said he is “proud to play a part in the progress the organization has made during the time,” including annexing with the city of Port Townsend, implementing battalion chiefs to improve responses to emergencies, merging with Port Ludlow Fire to improve efficiency, hiring a new fire chief and more.
His focus for the future is to review the district’s operational resilience “in the face of uncertain times ahead.”
Codier has worked in emergency healthcare, disaster planning and paramedic and EMT training and currently works in Jefferson County’s Department of Emergency Management.
If elected, Codier said he would work to help the fire district continue to offer high-quality emergency care to a community with a statistically high population of elderly individuals.
Incumbent Art Frank and challenger Ken McEdwards will run for Quilcene Fire District commissioner, position 1, a six-year term.
Frank, a deputy with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, has served as commissioner for about eight years.
“I am proud of the work we have done,” he said, noting the fire department has transitioned from all-volunteer to a professional department with full-time firefighter/EMTs.
“I am also mindful that, as a rural county, our resources are limited,” he said. “We are heading into a time of diminishing resources and, as fire commissioners, we are responsible for spending taxpayer money wisely. I take this responsibility seriously.”
McEdwards, who served as a fire commissioner with the Brinnon Fire Department for about 20 years, said he wants to focus on the basics: making sure there are people answering the calls and keeping the budget on track.
The following offices had one candidate each:
• Andy Pernsteiner, who was appointed to the position this spring, for sheriff, for a one-year unexpired term.
• Incumbent Peter Hanke for Port of Port Townsend commissioner, position 3, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Neil Nelson for Port Townsend City Council, position 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Libby Wennstrom for Port Townsend City Council, position 5, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Mike Reynolds for Brinnon School District director at large, position 2, a two-year unexpired term.
• Incumbent Summer Ventura for Brinnon School District director at large, position 5, a four-year term.
• Alyssa Haddenham for Chimacum School District director, district 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Kathryn Lamka for Chimacum School District director, district 5, a four-year term.
• Incumbent John Nowak for Port Townsend School District director, district 1, a four-year term.
• Jeannie Price for East Jefferson Fire District commissioner, district 1, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Dan Ventura for Brinnon Fire District commissioner, position 1, a four-year unexpired term.
• Incumbent Justin Matheson for Brinnon Fire District commissioner, position 3, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Barb Knoepfle for Discovery Bay Fire District commissioner, position 3, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Jeff Blakley for Paradise Bay Water District commissioner, position 2, a four-year unexpired term.
• Incumbent Alicia Simmons for Brinnon Cemetery District commissioner, position 2, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Michael Spears for Quilcene Cemetery District commissioner, position 3, a six-year term.
• Incumbent Dennis Schmitt for Coyle-Thorndyke Park and Recreation commissioner, position 2, a four-year term.
• Incumbent Thane Grooms for Coyle-Thorndyke Park and Recreation commissioner, position 3, a four-year term.
The list of uncontested races can be found at www.peninsuladailynews.com.
No candidates have registered for: West Jefferson County Hospital District 1 commissioners, positions 2 and 3; Queets/Clearwater School District directors at large, positions 1, 2 and 5; Brinnon School District director at large, position 1; Clearwater Fire District commissioners, positions 1, 2 and 3; Paradise Bay Water District commissioner, position 3; Brinnon Water District commissioners, positions 1 and 2; Gardiner Cemetery District commissioners, positions 1 and 2.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
