94 seats to fill as filing week kicks off

Today marks the start of filing week, officially kicking off the 2019 election season, which figures to be a busy one with 94 seats in local government up for election.

Voters looking at their ballots won’t see any big-name partisan races. Those will come next year. Still, there are dozens of jobs up for grabs that affect local daily life: city councils, school boards and fire districts, to name a few.

While candidates’ names will start pouring in today, plenty have already declared their intent to run.

One of the races expected to be particularly crowded is for Vancouver City Council Position 6. Incumbent Bill Turlay announced on March 12 that he won’t seek re-election. So far, five people have announced their intention to run: four relative newcomers and one veteran of local politics.

Jeanne Stewart, who served as a Republican member of the Clark County Council and prior to that spent 12 years on the city council, announced plans to get into the race. She’s going up against a roster of young progressive candidates: Camas urban planner Sarah Fox, teacher and union leader Adam Aguilera, U.S. Forest Service employee Diana Perez and marketing specialist Mike Pond.

Elsewhere on the city council, Ty Stober announced plans to run for re-election, as did councilors Erik Paulsen and Bart Hansen. So far, only Stober has an opponent, local bail bondsman and pastor David Regan. Regan was a finalist for the city council’s appointment process to replace Alishia Topper after she was elected Clark County Treasurer in November. Her seat ultimately went to Paulsen.

Stober is the early leader in the fundraising race. According to Public Disclosure Commission filings, he has amassed nearly $21,000, including $18,173.64 in cash contributions. Pond is the next highest, raising $6,380 to combine with $195 in loans for a total of $6,575.

Speaking of money, there will be less of it spent on the upcoming Port of Vancouver commission race than in 2017, when millions were spent locally in the race between winner Don Orange and Kris Greene. It ended up largely as a referendum on establishing a large crude-by-rail oil terminal at the port. Gov. Jay Inslee ultimately denied the project’s permits.

In April, Inslee signed House Bill 1375, which caps contributions on port commission races. Under the old law, only the ports of Seattle and Tacoma were limited. The bill, which went into effect 90 days after the Legislature’s April 28 adjournment, imposes the same limit at port districts of all sizes.

Though the oil terminal proposal is history, there is another Port of Vancouver commissioner’s seat open. Jerry Oliver announced in December he wouldn’t seek re-election in District 3. Jack Burkman, a former Vancouver city councilor and longtime local civic fixture, declared for the open seat, as did Vancouver accountant Dan Barnes.

At the county level, Battle Ground City Councilor Adrian Cortes said he will run for Clark County Council, where he will face Gary Medvigy, who was appointed to the post in January. The winner will fill an unexpired one-year term and will have to run again next year.

There are also plenty of school board seats up for grabs, including one where Fort Vancouver High School Center for International Studies senior Lindsey Luis, 18, is running for a Vancouver Public Schools seat currently held by Michelle Giovannozzi, who has not publicly declared whether she will run.

All of the small cities have city council seats open, and mayoral seats are up for election in Camas, La Center, Woodland and Yacolt. A judge seat on the Court of Appeals as well as one on the Superior Court are also on the ballot.