PORT TOWNSEND — Four more candidates had filed for seats in the Nov. 2 general election in Jefferson County as of mid-afternoon Thursday, raising the total to 37 who have filed for 32 positions out of the 46 seats that will be on the ballot.
As of mid-afternoon Thursday, heading into the last day of the filing period today, candidates for the three open seats on the Port Townsend City Council remain unopposed.
On Monday, Ben Thomas filed to run for Position 1, Aislinn Diamanti filed for Position 2 and Tyler Myles Vega filed for Position 5 of the City Council.
The two Port of Port Townsend commission races also remained unopposed as of 3 p.m. Thursday, with District 3 incumbent Peter Hanke running for a third four-year term and Carol Hasse, founder of Port Townsend Sails and co-founder of the Wooden Boat Festival, running for the District 2 position.
As of 3 p.m. Thursday, the contested races continued to be those for Port Ludlow Fire District No. 3 Position 3 commissioner, the at-large Position 4 seat on the Sequim School Board and Sequim-area Fire District 3 Position 1 commissioner.
The candidate filing period, which began Monday, will continue until 4:30 p.m. today.
The candidate page on VoteWa.gov lists 38 candidates. However, one filed and withdrew from running on Thursday, Quinn Grewell, Jefferson County election coordinator, confirmed.
Incumbent Ron Helmonds and challenger Glenn T. Clemens will vie for Position 3 on the Port Ludlow Fire District No. 3 board.
The Sequim School Board races include Rachel Tax, Derek Huntington and Virginia R. Sheppard seeking the at-large Position 4 seat, and Patrice Johnston running for the District 2 seat.
Jeff Nicholas, Duane Chamlee and Sean Ryan are running for Position 1 on the commission of the Clallam County Fire District 3, which covers a small part of Jefferson County.
Incumbent Jum Hueter seeks reelection for commissioner Position 1, and incumbent Laurie K. Neuenschwander is running for reelection to the Position 1 seat on the Quilcene Cemetery District No. 2 commission.
Incumbent Paul Mahan wants to be returned to his seat of Position 5 on the Quilcene School Board.
Incumbent Kevin Hinchen is running for reelection for the District 2 seat on the Quillayute Valley School Board.
Incumbent Sandra Wells-Kalama seeks reelection to the at-large Position 5 seat of the Queets-Clearwater School Board.
Mike Aman has filed to run for the District 2 position of the Chimacum School Board, while Roxanne Hudson seeks the District 1 position on the board.
Incumbent Deborah Stinson hopes to be reelected to the fire commissioner District 5 seat of East Jefferson Fire Rescue, while Steve Craig is running for the District 3 seat.
Incumbent Melody Bacchus seeks re-election to the fire commissioner District 2 seat of Quilcene Fire District.
Incumbent Tony Romberg is running for reelection to the fire commissioner Position 5 seat of Forks Fire District 1.
Incumbent Diane (Movius) Martin has filed for reelection for commissioner Position 2, of the Gardiner Cemetery District No. 3.
Dennis Schmitt is running for commissioner Position 2, and incumbent Larry Robinson seeks reelection to commissioner, Position 3, of the Coyle-Thorndyke Park and Recreation District No. 1.
Justin Matheson has filed for Position 3 and Richard Moore for Position 1 for the Brinnon Fire District commission.
Candidates who have filed earlier this week in other races can be found at https://www.peninsuladailynews.com/politics/more-hopefuls-announce-for-jefferson-county-public-office.
Candidates can register online or in person, said Grewell.
Filing is available online 24 hours a day during the filing period at https://voter.votewa.gov/candidatefiling/candidatelogin.aspx.
Candidates must be registered to vote in their districts, provide a valid email address and pay filing fees.
Declaration of Candidacy forms and filing fee information can be found at https://www.co.jefferson.wa.us/1268/For-Candidates.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Grewell discourages people from registering in person, but appointments are available by calling 360-385-9119 or 360-385-9117.
Seats are open on the following boards in both Clallam and Jefferson counties: Sequim school, Quillayute Valley school, Forks Fire District, Clallam County Fire District 3.
Seats are open on the following boards in Jefferson County only: Port Townsend City Council; Port of Port Townsend; Port Townsend, Chimacum, Quilcene, Brinnon and Queets-Clearwater School Boards; Jefferson Healthcare Hospital; West Jefferson County Hospital District 1; East Jefferson Fire Rescue; Quilcene, Port Ludlow, Brinnon, Discovery Bay and Clearwater fire districts; Coyle-Thorndyke Park and Recreation District; Paradise Bay and Brinnon water districts; Brinnon, Gardiner and Quilcene cemetery districts.
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Jefferson County reporter Zach Jablonski can be reached at 360-385-2335, ext. 5, or at zjablonski@peninsuladailynews.com.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The nighttime closure of the Hood Canal Bridge has necessitated earlier deadlines to allow the Peninsula Daily News to get printed newspapers back from the press in Everett in time for delivery this morning. That means all filings on Thursday may not be included in this story. They will be picked up on Friday for the Sunday paper.
