PORT ANGELES — The League of Women Voters of Clallam County will sponsor a free public forum featuring candidates for Port Angeles City Council Positions 1 and 2 on Wednesday, July 12.
The forum will start at 6:30 p.m. in the commissioners’ meeting room (160) at the Clallam County Courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., Port Angeles. The after-hours entrance is to the west of the main courthouse entrance.
Candidates for Position 1 are James “Jim” Moran, Todd Negus and Marolee Smith. Candidates for Position 2 are incumbent Lee Whetham, Mike French and Jacob Oppelt.
All candidates have confirmed their participation in the forum.
Audience members are encouraged to bring questions for the candidates. Candidates for other offices who are in attendance will be invited to introduce themselves at the conclusion of the forum, after which there will be time for a one-on-one question-and-answer session with all candidates.
These two Port Angeles City Council races will appear on the Aug. 1 primary ballot.
Because there are three candidates for Positions 1 and 2, the top two vote-getters in each of these primary races will advance to the Nov. 7 general election ballot.
It is League of Women Voters’ practice to hold forums only for primary races where there are three or more candidates.
In addition, two candidates have filed for council Position 3 — Lindsey Schromen-Wawrin and Artur Wojnowski — and two candidates have filed for Position 4 — Travis Berglund and Kate Dexter.
Under Washington’s top-two primary system, these four candidates will advance automatically to the general election Nov. 7.
League volunteers will video-record the July 12 forum, and shortly after the event, a link to the recording will be available at the league’s website, www.lwvcla.org.
The last day to register to vote by mail is this coming Monday, and the last day to register in person in the auditor’s office at the county courthouse will be July 24.
Ballots will be mailed July 12 and must be postmarked no later than Aug. 1 to be counted in the primary election.
Ballots are not forwarded to new or temporary addresses, so voters who have moved since the last election should contact the auditor’s office at 360-417-2221.
For more information about the League of Women Voters, see its website or email VoterServicesLWVcla@gmail.com.
