The local 2023 election season has the make-up of two Sequim-area government entities hanging in the balance.
Four of five seats on the Sequim School board and four of seven Sequim City Council positions are up for election this year, as incumbents and challengers prepare to file their paperwork ahead of Candidate Filing Week, set for May 15-19.
Online filing begins at 9 a.m., and in-person filing begins at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, May 15, with online filing ending at 4 p.m. and in-person filing at 4:30 p.m. Friday, May 19.
The last day to withdraw from the ballot is May 22 and candidate statements and photos for the Voter’s Guide are due by May 26.
Races with more than three candidates and some partisan races will appear in the Primary Election, set for Aug. 1.
The top two from those and other races, along with state and local ballot measures, appear in the General Election, set for Nov. 7.
Clallam County Elections Manager Susan Johnson said nonpartisan races with less than two candidates will not appear on the Primary ballot, but will appear on the General Election ballot.
“Partisan races, even if only one candidate is running, will always appear on your Primary ballot (reflecting the races in your district),” she said.
See more information at clallamcountywa.gov/Elections and voter.votewa.gov.
Local offices up for election with Sequim voters include:
• City of Sequim
Incumbents William Armacost (Pos. 1), Kathy Downer (Pos. 2), Lowell Rathbun (Pos. 6) and Tom Ferrell (Pos. 7) are each up for four-year regular, non-partisan terms on the City of Sequim’s seven-member council.
Ferrell, the city’s mayor, said via email he’s unsure if he’s going to run.
“I am a very busy person so I am still trying to figure it out,” he said.
“I always desire common sense, no pet projects, and a very objective approach to legislative decision making whether as a citizen or councilor.”
Downer said via email she’s likely not going to run again.
Armacost and Rathbun could not be reached by press time.
• Sequim School Board
Incumbents Larry Jeffryes (District 1), Michael Rocha (District 3) and Eric A. Pickens (at large Pos. 5) are each up for four-year regular, non-partisan terms, while Maren Halvorsen (at large Pos. 4) is eligible for an unexpired two-year regular, non-partisan term.
Pickens, the board president, said he plans to run for re-election — but for the District 3 seat currently held by Rocha, not Picken’s at-large position.
“Although I am proud of what has been accomplished since I began my term on the board, including navigating leadership changes, minimizing the impacts of budget cuts, and the approval of our capital projects levy, there is still much work to do,” he said in an email. “I am running again to continue the work of advocating for more resources for our schools, and to ensure that our educators have everything they need to provide a high-quality education to our students.”
Jeffryes said he plans to run for re-election, announcing his decision on April 4 via Facebook.
“My #1 priority is student achievement and success,” he wrote on Facebook. “How we do that becomes the question I want to help answer.”
Halvorsen, appointed in Feb. 2022, said she plans to run to retain her board position.
“As I said when I first joined the School Board, the public schools are at the heart of our community. I want to continue the work to provide the best possible education for our students,” she said in an email.
Rocha said he plans to run after being appointed in October 2022.
“I want to see it through and do a full term after being appointed,” he said.
“I got involved with the board due to the lack of transparency and communication during Covid, and I want to continue be transparent and communicate more with voters.”
• Clallam County Commissioners
Incumbent Mark Ozias is up for election as District 1 commissioner on Clallam County’s three-member commissioner board. The office is a four-year partisan position.
Ozias said via email he looks forward to filing for a third term.
If reelected, he said some of his priorities would include:
• Supporting strategies to increase the availability of housing at all levels (supported, affordable, workforce),
• Working with partners to expand and improve supports for those experiencing behavioral health or homelessness crises,
• Supporting efforts that build energy, economic, emergency and climate resilience for our community,
• Continuing to build and support teamwork and leadership development both inside and outside the courthouse walls,
• Improving our ability to help shape and influence state and federal legislation to improve outcomes for our county
Voting for commissioner seats is limited in the Primary to their district (for Ozias is Sequim) and then it goes countywide in the General Election, Johnson said.
• Fire District 3
Would-be incumbent Steven Chinn recently resigned his Clallam County Fire District 3 commissioner (Pos. 2) role, leaving open a six-year regular nonpartisan term.
Mike Mingee, the former part-time fire code technician for Clallam County Fire District 3, was sworn in as a fire commissioner to the district’s three-person board on May 2. He told fellow fire commissioners he plans to file for election.
Other races
Johnson said for Clallam County Hospital District’s District 2 races, candidates must file for the sub-district they live in, but voting for the Primary and General elections is open to all those who live within the hospital district.
John B. Nutter (Pos. 1) and Philip Giuntoli (Pos. 2), both of Port Angeles, are the incumbents in the Clallam County Hospital District’s District 2 races. Position 1 is a regular term, while Position 2 is a short and full term; both are non-partisan regular terms.
Also up for election are three Clallam County Park and Recreation District positions — incumbents are Richard Neal (Pos. 3), Al Mundy (Pos. 4) and J.Mike Rudd (Pos. 5) — that are four-year regular, non-partisan seats, and Water District Sunland (incumbent Gary Fortmann), a six-year regular, nonpartisan office.
The Park and Recreation and Water Districts don’t have primaries, Johnson said.
Voter info
Clallam County will publish a local voters’ pamphlet for each election. For the General Election, the Local Voters’ Pamphlet will continue to be produced in conjunction with the State Voters’ Pamphlet. All pamphlets will be available in both printed and electronic form on the Clallam County Auditor’s website: clallamcountywa.gov/elections.
Included in the guides are: candidate statements, bios and photos official; ballot titles and explanatory statements; “for” and “against” statements, if submitted; and committee contact information.
