Candidates: turn in your paperwork.
Today marks the beginning of candidate filing week for the 2013 election season, when those intending to run in Clallam County must submit their declarations of candidacy.
Some who already have announced their plans are:
— Port Angeles City Councilmen Brad Collins, in Position 1, and Patrick Downie, in Position 3.
— City Councilwoman Brooke Nelson, who said she will not run for re-election for Position 4.
Instead she will serve as the campaign manager for real estate broker Dan Gase, who is running for her position.
— Peter Ripley, online newspaper publisher and disability advocate, will seek council Position 2, currently held by Councilman Max Mania, who has not formally announced his plans.
— In Sequim, Ted Miller, a retired CIA analyst and attorney elected to Position 3 in 2009, announced his campaign for a second term on the Sequim City Council.
— Dennis Smith, a retired Air Force officer, confirmed Friday that he also will be seeking re-election to the Sequim City Council.
Smith was appointed to the post in October after Bill Huizanga resigned because he moved to Agnew.
— Genaveve Starr, a retired Peninsula College administrative assistant, will seek election to the Sequim City Council.
Starr was appointed to the council in January after the health-related resignation of Don Hall.
— Sequim School Board President Virginia O’Neill announced in March that she would not seek another term.
Appointed in 2007, O’Neill was elected to her current term in 2009.
— Bev Horan will seek a third term on the Sequim School District’s board of directors.
Horan, manager of a grant that augments funding for the school’s Indian education program, was first elected to the school board in 2005 and was re-elected without opposition in 2009.
From Monday through Friday, voting-age candidates running for any of the 44 seats up for grabs in Clallam County can file their declarations in person at the auditor’s office in the basement of the county courthouse, 223 E. Fourth St., in Port Angeles, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.
Declarations also can be printed from the county elections web page at http://tinyurl.com/bnvts7e and submitted by mailing the completed form to the elections office at Clallam County Elections, 223 E. Fourth St., Suite 1, Port Angeles, WA, 98362.
But they must be received by the county election’s office by 4:30 p.m. Friday, not merely postmarked by that date, officials warn.
Among the open seats are spots on 21 elected boards, commissions and councils.
Seats are open on the governing bodies of the Port of Port Angeles; the cities of Port Angeles, Sequim and Forks; and school, hospital, fire and water districts.
All the positions are non-partisan.
If more than three candidates file for a given position, the top-two winners of the Aug. 6 primary election will advance to the Nov. 5 contest.
Candidates must be registered voters in the area in which they are running for office, and City Council candidates must have been residents in the city they’re running in for at least a year as of Nov. 5.
In Clallam County, filing fees apply only to candidates running for the Port Angeles City Council, Sequim City Council and Port of Port Angeles Board of Commissioners because individuals serving in those positions receive a salary.
Candidates also must file separate financial affairs and candidate registration forms with the state Public Disclosure Commission within two weeks of becoming a candidate.
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Reporter Jeremy Schwartz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jschwartz@peninsuladailynews.com.
