The Long Run: Filing Week

Election news and commentary by Charlie Bermant

[caption id align="alignnone" width="2000"]

Forks resident Hickory Grant is is challenging District 2 State Representative Steve Tharinger (courtesy photo).  [/caption]

There were a few surprises during last week’s candidate filing period, with unopposed candidates gaining competition and  “locked-in” races drawing wild cards.

In Washington, the primary system allows the top two prevailing candidates in the primary (August 6) to advance to the general election (November 5) regardless of party. This often means that the strongest candidate of each major political party will prevail. The nightmare, for either party, is a situation where one party dominates in the primary and leaves the other party behind.

The race for the Sixth District Congressional seat, which includes all of Jefferson County, expanded late in the filing period. Prior to filing week, the probability was that Republican State Senator Drew MacEwan would place in the top two, with the second spot won by Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz or State Senator Emily Randall, both Democrats.

Two new candidates have emerged: Port Angeles attorney J. Graham Ralston and Tacoma resident Janis Clark (R). Ralston declared as an independent, which brings in a whole set of new probabilities. He told the Beacon he wanted to present a choice outside of the two-party system.

“I'm a viable candidate as an independent and seek to represent those voters that already identify as an independent or those who think that their party is not well represented by Trump or Biden,” Ralston said in an email. “l am with the majority of Americans who want change that is done outside of the party.”

We contacted Clark on Friday, who said she would not be available to discuss her candidacy until after press time.

The 24th District State Senate seat opened up after incumbent Kevin Van De Wege decided to run for Lands Commissioner. Prior to filing week only two candidates declared for the seat, State Representative Mike Chapman (D) and Quilcene Fire Commissioner Marcia Kelbon (R). Each has the support of their respective parties, and both told the Beacon they did not expect any additional candidates.

That changed when Port Angeles resident James Russell entered the race as a Democrat. Unlike most other candidates, he excluded both his email and phone number from his filing. So there is no easy way to get in touch. He’s not in the phonebook and has no discernible online presence. One source told us he was 75 years old, but that couldn’t be verified. We did some deep digging and found an email address on the Public Disclosure Commission, and sent a message asking him to get in touch. No answer yet.

In these interviews, the first question I ask is “why are you running?” It seems especially pertinent in this case. And why do I have to chase you down just to find out who you are?

District 24 has two state representative positions with surprise filings for both seats. For Position 1, now occupied by Chapman, for months Clallam County Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Roberson was the only Republican candidate until Aberdeen resident James Streifel, a retired firefighter, filed 23 minutes before the absolute deadline.

I didn’t have the bandwidth last week to call Streifel about his candidacy, though he was considerate enough to post a phone number and an email address. Here, it’s another evolution of the “why are you running” question, leading to “why did you wait for the last minute, and does doing so indicate that you are somehow less committed than people who have been running for months?”

Chances are that Roberson will prevail as the Republican candidate while Democrats Eric Pickens, Nate Tyler, and Adam Bernbaum will compete for the second slot.

Position 2 also got livelier, with two Republican challengers. Steve Tharinger (D) seeks an eighth term and was unopposed until Thursday when Forks City Council Member Hickory Grant stepped in. He told the Beacon that he was running to give voters a choice.

“There wasn’t anyone else running, and the incumbent needed a challenge,” Grant said. “I don’t think these offices should be held by career politicians, they are a service, not a career. I can represent the people out here, loggers with sawdust in their pockets, who don’t feel that our current officials represent us at all.”

Terry Roberts of Quilcene filed for the seat on Friday. He listed a phone number and an email in his filing, but both were dead ends. Calling the phone number, we heard that the voicemail was not operational and the email bounced back.

The Jefferson County Board of Commissioners has two open seats. Previously declared District 1 candidate Heather Dudley Nollette drew an opponent in Port Townsend City Council Member Ben Thomas. (see the Beacon, May 7). Both are Democrats.

District 2 Commissioner Heidi Eisenhour (D) did not draw any opposition.

While the District 1 contest is still up in the air, it’s certain that next year’s Board of Commissioners will all be Democrats (no Republican has served on the board since 2004).

Jefferson County Judge Brandon Mack and Jefferson PUD District 3 Commissioner Dan Toepper did not draw any opposition and will serve another term (four years for Mack; six for Toepper) by acclamation. Both positions are nonpartisan.

Legally, candidates don’t owe anything to the press or the public. There is no requirement for a candidate to list their phone number, participate in forums, or answer questions from the media. There is no absolute rule about when candidates should file. The voters provide the only indicator of who deserves to be elected. Hopefully the candidates will all take the opportunity to clarify their positions before we have to cast our votes.

All of these new candidates say they are running to give voters a choice. Ralston’s run for Congress makes sense in this context, as there are no Independents in that race. Others are running in races where there are several choices already. In those cases, the question will be, “Do you provide a real choice, or are you running for another reason that has nothing to do with public service?”