Crowded races develop for PA, Sequim councils

Friday, June 8, 2007

Peninsula News Network

Clallam County, WA - Many of the recent city council elections in Port Angeles and Sequim have seen a dearth of candidates, with many incumbents running unopposed.

That certainly won’t be the case this year, with enough candidates showing up to not only set up contested races, but Primary elections to narrow the field. Once it got started, the pacing of filing for the two local city councils never slowed this week, with new people submitting their paperwork every day.

For Port Angeles city council Position 5, appointed incumbent Edna Petersen won’t have it easy in her bid to get elected to the seat, with two challengers showing up. Donella Pratt, a fairly recent arrival on the Peninsula filed first, and Friday former Clallam Transit General Manager Dan Di Guilio decided to enter the race. He’d applied for that appointment last year.

The real horse race is for Position 6, where appointed incumbent and former Mayor Rich Headrick is stepping aside. Four hopefuls have crowded into that race with three-time candidate Peter Ripley, history promoter Don Perry, Planning Commissioner John Matthews and Paul Sawyer deciding to take a shot at election.

Incumbent Grant Munro, who is trying to be elected to a second term, will be challenged by Cherie Kidd, who is also making her third shot at being elected to the council.

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In Sequim, the story has been all about political manuvering throughout the last 48-hours.

Incumbent Don Hall had jumped to Position 4 on Thursday… the seat held by John Beitzel… after Beitzel filed for Olympic Medical Center commissioner. But Friday morning, Hall drew a challenge from Sequim architect Ken Hays. Hays was passed over for a council appointment earlier this year.

However, that all changed before filing closed in the afternoon, as Hays jumped down to Position 7, while Susan Lorenzen, who had filed early in the week for Position 7, chased Hall back into Position 4. Lorenzen was among those who had sought the council appointment last winter.

The man who was appointed to that vacancy, Bob Anundson, will be challenged by Erik Erichsen, who was another person that had applied for that appointment.

In Position 6, incumbent Ron Farquhar will be challenged by Laura Dubois as he tries for a third term

After Friday’s shuffling, Hays ends up running unopposed for Position 7.

In all those races with three or more candidates, voters will pare the field down to two in the August Primary election.