PORT ANGELES — More than a dozen candidates — mostly incumbents — filed for election Monday as Clallam County filing week began in earnest.
All 16 candidates filed for positions up for election Nov. 3 and which will be on the Aug. 4 primary ballot if more than two candidates file for a seat.
Forty-eight seats — all but one is nonpartisan — will be on the general election ballot, with the positions ranging from Port of Port Angeles commissioner, a countywide position, to the Black Diamond Water District board.
Robin Henrikson of Sequim and Willard Naslund of Port Angeles filed for the Sequim School Board District 1 seat held by Heather Jeffers, while Heather Short of Port Angeles filed for the Sequim School Board at-large Position 5 seat held by Walter Johnson.
The new faces 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 the Quillayute Park and Recreation District Position 3 seat that was held by current Republican Clallam County Commissioner Bill Peach before he was elected to the countywide seat in November.
The incumbents who filed included Cherie Kidd of Port Angeles, Port Angeles 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 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 two other seats on the Port Angeles City Council held by Mayor Dan Di Guilio and Sissi Bruch and Sequim City Council positions held by Laura Dubois, Ken Hays and Candace Pratt.
Other positions up for election include Republican Jim McEntire’s countywide District 1 county commissioner’s seat and the countywide nonpartisan Port of Port Angeles position held by John Calhoun, who is not seeking re-election.
Connie Beauvais, Joyce-area resident and vice chair of the county planning commission, and Lee Whetham of Port Angeles, a Port Angeles City Council member, have said they intend to run for Calhoun’s position but did not file Monday.
The hospital district, fire district and Sunland Water District positions have six-year terms.
Most of the other positions are four-year seats.
Candidate can file for office from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the county elections office in the basement of the county courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5060, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
