Candidate’s fee-waiver attempt falls short

A Clark County council candidate’s attempt to waive the filing fee fell short Thursday.

Democrat Mike Pond, who announced in April his plans to run for the new District 2 council seat, petitioned to waive the $530 fee by collecting 630 signatures. Candidates can waive their fees, which are 1 percent of the office’s salary, by collecting one signature for every dollar charged.

“I believe that fee is prohibitive and makes participating in our democracy inaccessible,” Pond posted to his campaign Facebook page.

The problem is, 144 of the signatures he gathered are invalid, leaving a 44-signature gap.

Elections Supervisor Cathie Garber said Pond will have to pay the $530 by 5 p.m. Friday or else be out of the race. He can’t just bring in more signatures. State law requires that candidates present adequate valid signatures when declaring their candidacy in order to waive the filing fee.

Pond later tweeted that he would have no choice but to pay his filing fee.

Garber said she has never seen anyone successfully attempt a fee waiver during her time at the county. Garber advised anyone looking to collect signatures for a petition to purchase a complete list of registered voters from the Clark County Elections Department. The voter list costs $12.50.

Filing week ends Friday, and could mean a surprise candidate for what will likely be the most hotly contested race of the year: Clark County council chair. So far, no Democrats have announced their candidacy for the seat, though Deanna Pauli-Hammond, chair of the Clark County Democrats, has said several times that she expects a candidate will emerge.

So far, Councilors David Madore and Tom Mielke, both Republicans, and former County Commissioner Marc Boldt, an independent, have filed for the seat.

Latest filings

• City of Camas:

Council, Ward 1, Position No. 1: Shawn High.

• City of La Center:

Mayor: Greg Thornton.

• City of Washougal:

Council, Position No. 7: Dan Coursey, Molly L. Coston.

• City of Woodland:

Council, Position No. 4: Karl A. Chapman.

• Town of Yacolt:

Council, Position No. 3: Anthony Bronkhorst.

• Cemetery District No. 4:

Commissioner, Position No. 1: Ruth M.J. Ham.

• East County Fire and Rescue:

Commissioner, Position No. 1: Thomas A. Gianatasio.

Commissioner, Position No. 2: Michael Taggart.

Commissioner, Position No. 3: Mike Berg.

Commissioner, Position No. 5: Sherry M. Petty.

• Hockinson School District:

School director, District No. 3: Dave Olson.

• Ridgefield School District:

School director, District No. 2: Steve Radosevich.

School director, District No. 5: Scott Gullickson.

Filing deadlines

Potential candidates in Clark County can file at clark.wa.gov/elections through 4 p.m. today or in person until 5 p.m. today at the elections office at 1408 Franklin St. in Vancouver.

There are also seats available on the Woodland City Council, the Woodland Swimming Pool and Recreation District and the Woodland School District board. Candidates for those offices can file with the Cowlitz County Auditor’s Office in person at 207 N. Fourth Ave. in Kelso or at vote.wa.gov/Cowlitz.

This year’s primary will be Aug. 4. The top two candidates from that primary, regardless of party, will move on to the Nov. 3 general election.