PORT ANGELES — The first day for Clallam County candidates to file for the Nov. 6 general election produced a contest for the Aug. 7 primary.
Port Angeles lawyer Pam Lindquist, who ran for Port Angeles-area District Court 1 judge in 2010, joined Port Angeles lawyers Suzanne Hayden and Dave Neupert in filing Monday for the four-year jurist position.
It’s held by Judge Rick Porter, who is not running for a fifth term.
Neupert and Hayden had previously announced their intentions to run for the position, the salary for which will be $164,313 a year as of Sept. 1.
Filing week ends Friday.
The last day for candidates to withdraw their names from the ballot is May 21, or their names will appear on the ballot even if they have announced they are no longer candidates.
Also filing were incumbent Mary Ellen Winborn and challenger Julie Gardiner, department of community development director; Republican incumbent Bill Peach, county commissioner; incumbent Bill Benedict, sheriff; Republican incumbent Mark Nichols, prosecuting attorney; incumbent Shoona Rigs, auditor; and incumbent Pamela Rushton, assessor.
All the positions but county commissioner and prosecuting attorney are nonpartisan.
Filing for state House of Representatives, District 24, were incumbent Democrats Mike Chapman, Position 1, and Steve Tharinger, Position 2.
The district covers Clallam and Jefferson counties and the northern half of Grays Harbor County.
Democratic U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer of Port Angeles, who represents the 6th District, also filed for a fourth two-year term.
Susan Owens of Tumwater, the former West End-area District Court 2 judge, also filed for re-election to a six-year term as Supreme Court Judge Position 2.
Lindquist, who will be 51 on Nov. 6, said she has done thousands of cases in District Court during her 16 years of practicing law in Port Angeles and has not practiced law for six months to clear her calendar to avoid any conflicts.
The Verona, Ohio, native said she has done “thousands” of criminal and civil District Court 1 cases and has more experience in the court than her opponents.
“I know what it needs and I know its role in the community,” Lindquist said.
“The District Court is where I can do the most good.”
In a 2010 Clallam County Bar Association poll for the District Court 1 race in, challenger Tim Davis was the top-rated candidate followed by Porter second and Lindquist third.
Porter easily won re-election with 57 percent of the vote in the 2010 primary to Davis’ 26 percent and Lindquist’s 17 percent.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
