PORT ANGELES — The first day of general election filing week Monday produced aspirants for all five Clallam County positions up for grabs Nov. 8.
Clallam County candidates who filed Monday included Werner Buehler, running for the Sequim-area District 1 Clallam County Public Utility District commissioner position held by incumbent board President Will Purser.
Candidates have from today through Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. each day, to file for open positions online at www.clallam.net/elections or at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles.
Filing fees must be paid in person by cash or check by 4:30 p.m. Friday at the courthouse.
U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, a Port Angeles native whose 6th District includes Clallam and Jefferson counties, also filed for re-election to the two-year position he has held since 2012.
Public utility district
Buehler, who has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and worked as a lineman in college, has been a general manager for utilities and public utility districts for about 30 years, he said Monday.
That stretch includes his current stint as general manager of the Oregon Trail Electric Co-op in Baker City, Ore., a position he has held for about the past nine years and plans to leave by the end of 2016, he said.
The Los Angeles native said Monday he is retiring to Clallam County after he and his wife, Nancy, bought a home in Sequim two years ago.
“I think my experience could bring something to the office,” Buehler said.
Purser, a PUD commissioner since 2001, also filed Monday for re-election to the six-year position.
Purser, appointed in 2001, won election to the position without opposition in 2002, 2004 and 2010.
“I think it’s healthy to have a discussion in front of the public,” he said of having a challenger.
Commission, judges
Also filing Monday for four-year terms were Democrat Ron Richards, running for the Port Angeles-area District 2 Clallam County commissioner position being vacated by Mike Chapman, and incumbent Clallam County Superior Court Judges Christopher Melly, Erik Rohrer and Brian Coughenour.
Three candidates also filed for the following 24th District state legislative seats that cover Clallam and Jefferson counties and the northern third of Grays Harbor County:
■ Chapman, a Port Angeles Democrat, filed for the two-year Position 1 state representative seat being vacated by Sequim Democrat Kevin Van De Wege.
■ Van De Wege filed for the four-year state Senate seat being vacated by longtime Democrat Jim Hargrove of Hoquiam, who is retiring.
■ Incumbent state Rep. Steve Tharinger, a Sequim Democrat, also filed for re-election to a two-year term in the Position 2 district seat he has held for three terms.
Republicans Maggie Roth and Gabe Rygaard, who have announced their intentions to run for District 1 Clallam County commissioner, did not file Monday with the county elections office.
But they have registered as candidates with the state Public Disclosure Commission to raise campaign funds, according to the agency’s website at www.pdc.wa.gov.
Rygaard, whose family-owned Rygaard Logging Inc. has been featured on History Channel’s “Ax Men” reality show, has loaned his campaign $3,000.
Roth, a civil process server and a former owner of Northwest Duty Free and Currency Exchange in Port Angeles, has raised $600, according to the PDC — $400 from former state Rep. Jim Buck of Joyce and $200 from Claudia Cookson of Port Angeles.
Purser and Richards, a former Clallam County commissioner, have registered with the PDC but have not filed fundraising totals, according to the agency’s website.
Thirty-six candidates — including Roth — also filed Monday for precinct committee officer positions.
The seat held by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Seattle, will be up as well as nine statewide executive offices and three Supreme Court seats.
Statewide offices on the ballot will be governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, attorney general, commissioner of public lands, superintendent of public instruction and insurance commissioner.
A complete list of candidates who filed for election in Clallam County, regionally and statewide is at www.clallam.net.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
