Filing week gets off to busy start in Clark County

Things are already heating up in Clark County Councilor David Madore’s district as filing week kicked off Monday morning, marking the official start to the local election season.

Tanisha Harris made a surprise announcement as a Democrat for the Clark County Council District 3 position, and Republican John Blom, who had earlier announced for Madore’s seat, also filed. Madore has yet to file.

Candidates can file for federal, state and local offices with the Clark County Elections Office all week. Candidates must be registered to vote in the jurisdiction for which they are filing, and pay a filing fee of 1 percent of that office’s total yearly compensation.

Harris had previously announced her candidacy for the 17th Legislative District House seat vacated by Rep. Lynda Wilson, R-Vancouver. She works for YWCA Clark County as a program specialist for the Court Appointed Special Advocate Program.

“As much as I was committed to representing the people of the 17th (Legislative District) and Clark County in Olympia, I’m even more committed to taking care of business here at home,” Harris posted in a campaign announcement on her Facebook page, adding that the district needs a county councilor who is “open-minded, respectful and will live up to our county motto ‘Proud Past, Promising Future.’ ”

Harris, 39, joins what is arguably the local race to watch with Monday’s announcement. She will compete for the seat against Republicans Madore, the 64-year-old CEO of Vancouver motion-control device manufacturer US Digital, and Blom, a 32-year-old real estate agent. Both men announced their candidacies for the seat, which represents east Vancouver, earlier this year.

Harris’ announcement leaves the 17th Legislative District seat without a Democratic candidate — for now. Two Republicans filed: Vicki Kraft, a conservative Republican who works for the Freedom Foundation; and Jerry Oliver, a Port of Vancouver commissioner. Both had previously announced their candidacies.

Sam Kim also announced in February that he would run for the 17th Legislative District House seat.

Clark County’s chief information officer still plans to file for office before the deadline on Friday, but he’s not sure if he’ll be filing as a Republican, Democrat or nonaffiliated.

“I just want to make sure we have candidates who really represent the independents in Clark County and bring Clark County together,” Kim said Monday.

Kim, a former Battle Ground school board member, said he’s being “pulled in all types of directions” and his primary goal is to work on behalf of the community.

“I’ve been a lifelong Republican, but I really have to ask ‘Is that truly the best way to go?’ I’m still weighing my options … but if you look at what’s happening nationally and what’s happening locally, we’re in this gridlock. How do we break this gridlock and move forward as a county?”

Kim mentioned the reputation some Southwest Washington lawmakers have earned while working on the defunct Columbia River Crossing project.

“People across the river won’t talk to us because they are so mad,” he said.

Kim said it’s time to end the “status quo” and find some new options so the county can “build trust and relationships.”

Kim said he plans to make up his mind mid-week about how he will file.

Either way, he said he won’t be casting a vote for the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, Donald Trump.

“For Trump? I can definitely say no … on Hillary? I won’t comment,” Kim said.

Pro-Sanders candidate

One local person filed Monday for a statewide race. But it wasn’t Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, who is expected to file for the lieutenant governor position.

Patrick O’Rourke of Yacolt filed to run against Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee.

O’Rourke, a Democrat, said he was inspired to run because of Inslee’s stance on the presidential race. Inslee is a superdelegate who has pledged his support to Hillary Clinton, despite challenger Bernie Sanders winning Washington state’s primary.

“It irritated me quite a while, and this last weekend I thought, ‘Why don’t I do something about it?’ ” O’Rourke said.

He was pleased to discover how easy it was to file for governor using his iPhone.

O’Rourke, who works as a control foreman for Clark Public Utilities, said he also believes the Democratic Party has shifted too far from its core values.

“I have other issues about how the Democratic Party has drifted from being for the working people and the regular person,” O’Rourke said, to focusing more on the wealthy and their issues.

“They get their campaign money from the rich,” he said.

Inslee also filed for governor on Monday, as did two others.

Candidates can file in person from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday at the Clark County Elections Office, 1408 Franklin St., Vancouver. Candidates can also file at www.clark.wa.gov/elections until 4 p.m. Friday. Candidates must have a valid email address to file online.

A complete list of open elective offices, their filing fees and a copy of the 2016 Candidate Guide are available at the elections office or at www.clark.wa.gov/elections/candidates.