PORT ANGELES — The general election field became more crowded Tuesday as a Clallam County commissioner filed for re-election and two candidates filed to make it a race for the Port of Port Angeles board seat that will be vacated by John Calhoun.
Republican Jim McEntire of Sequim filed for the District 1 seat he has held for 3½ years.
The commissioner race is the only partisan position on the ballot, which has 48 positions up for election.
Pat Johansen, past chair of the Clallam County Democratic Central Committee, said Tuesday she expects a Democratic Party challenger to McEntire to emerge later this week.
In addition Tuesday, City Councilman Lee Whetham of Port Angeles and Joyce-area resident Connie Beauvais filed for the West End District 3 port seat held by Calhoun, who is not seeking re-election.
Ten candidates filed for positions Tuesday, bringing the Monday-Tuesday total to 27 county residents who have filed for 22 positions out of the 48 open this year.
Filings Tuesday also saw the first Aug. 4 primary races take shape.
Charles Meyer and former Clallam County Prosecuting Attorney William Payne, both of Sequim, filed for the Sequim School Board Position 5 at-large seat that Heather Short of Port Angeles filed for Monday.
Walter Johnson now holds the seat.
Rebecca Bratsman of Sequim also filed Tuesday for the Sequim School Board District 1 seat held by Heather Jeffers, joining Monday filers Robin Henrikson of Sequim and Willard Naslund of Port Angeles for the primary contest.
The primary election will narrow the field for positions that have three or more contenders to two candidates each who will be on the Nov. 3 general election ballot.
McEntire
McEntire, a former Port of Port Angeles commissioner who announced his re-election try in an email, said that if he is re-elected, he will continue doing what he pledged to do when he was sworn in to office in January 2012.
Calling himself a “common-sense conservative,” he said he has operated with openness, good humor and dedication to good governance.
“That is what Clallam County voters can expect for the next four years,” McEntire said.
Others who filed Tuesday included Christina “Stina” Kohout of Forks for the Forks City Council Position 5 seat held by Michael D. Breidenbach.
Jim Stoffer of Sequim also filed Tuesday for the Sequim School Board District 3 position held by John Bridge.
Sissi Bruch of Port Angeles filed Tuesday for re-election to her Port Angeles City Council Position 6 position, as did incumbent Lowell P. McQuoid of Forks for his Forks-area Fire District 1 commissioner seat.
Incumbent Donald Lawley of Beaver also filed for re-election Tuesday to his West End Hospital District 1, commissioner District 3 position.
Filed Monday
The non-incumbents who filed Monday included Brandon Janisse of Sequim, who filed for Sequim City Council member Erik Erichsen’s Position 1 seat, and David Gedlund of Forks, who filed for a Quillayute Park and Recreation District Position 3 seat that was held by current West End-area Republican Clallam County Commissioner Bill Peach.
The incumbents who filed Monday included Cherie Kidd of Port Angeles, Port Angeles City Council Position 7; Candace Pratt, Sequim City Council Position 7; J. Thomas Oblak of Sequim, Olympic Medical Center (OMC) hospital district District 1, Position 2; Jim Cammack of Port Angeles, OMC District 3, Position 1; and Jim Leskinovitch, OMC commissioner-at-large.
Incumbents who filed also included Trisha Haggerty of Port Angeles, Crescent School Board Position 3, and Bill Rohde of Forks, Quillayute Valley School Board District 3.
Other incumbents who filed Monday were David R. Whitney of Port Angeles, Port Angeles Fire District No. 2, Position 2; G. Michael Gawley of Sequim, Sequim-area Fire District No. 3, Position 1; Tom Rosmond of Forks, Forks-area Fire District No. 6, Position 3; and Albert F. Friess, Sunland Water District Position 3.
Other open positions include seats on the Port Angeles City Council held by Mayor Dan Di Guilio and Sequim City Council positions held by Laura Dubois and Ken Hays.
Hays said Tuesday he expects to file for re-election.
Hospital district, fire district and SunLand Water District positions have six-year terms.
Most of the other positions are four-year seats.
Candidates can file for office from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. through Friday at the county elections office in the basement of the county courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.