Pike appointed to fill 18th Legislative District seat

A Camas woman has been appointed to serve in the 18th Legislative District Position 1 State Representative seat.

On Thursday with a 4-2 vote, commissioners from Clark and Cowlitz counties appointed Republican Liz Pike to the Washington State House of Representatives position. She was then sworn in by Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Michael H. Evans.

Pike, who is running for the State Representative Position 2 seat against Democrat David Shehorn in the Nov. 6 General Election, is now filling the unexpired term of Ann Rivers, R-La Center who was appointed in late June to replace former Sen. Joseph Zarelli, R-Ridgefield. He resigned May 31.

Pike was unavailable for comment as of press deadlines.

The boards of county commissioners met in Cowlitz County to interview the three candidates whose names were forwarded by Republican Party officials. In addition to Pike, the candidates included Brandon Vick, former chairman of the Clark County Republican Party who is running for the Position 1 seat in the General Election, and Peter Silliman, a former Republican precinct officer who ran for the Position 1 seat in the Primary Election but didn’t garner enough votes to make it onto the General Election ballot.

According to Axel Swanson of the Clark County Commissioner’s office, voting in Pike’s favor were Clark County Commissioners Marc Boldt and Steve Stuart, and Cowlitz County Commissioners Michael A. Karnofski and James Misner. Votes for Vick came from Cowlitz Commissioner George Raiter and Clark Commissioner Tom Mielke.

Clark County Elections Supervisor Tim Likness said yesterday that Pike will serve in the Position 1 seat until Nov. 27 when the general election results are certified and the winner is sworn in. In that race, Vick’s name will appear on the ballot with Republican Adrian E. Cortes, a Battle Ground city councilman. However, Cortes dropped out of the race in June.

Pike has owned Pike Advertising Agency since 1995 and operates Shangri-La Farm in the Fern Prairie area. She was a member of Camas City Council from 2003 to 2007, and has served as a Republican precinct officer. She is a Brush Prairie native and graduate of Battle Ground High School.

The salary for a state legislator is $42,106.