Thursday, March 28, 2024

Race is on as candidates file for elective officeCooper nominated (again) for unwanted office Race is on as candidat

Posted

OKANOGAN – Candidate filing week opened across the state on May 14, and prospective office seekers had through Friday, May 18, to get on the ballot. Online filing was open through 4 p.m., May 18, and that allowed plenty of time to nominate even an unwitting citizen to a vacant seat.
In Douglas and Okanogan counties some notable names will not be on the ballot this year. Another has once again been nominated for an office he neither wants nor filed for, similar to an ordeal he experienced last year.
Okanogan County Sheriff Frank Rogers will not seek a fifth term after serving 16 years as sheriff. A large field of six candidates have filed for Rogers’ seat. They include Michael Blake (R) Okanogan, Kevin Newport (R) Omak, Steve Brown (R) Omak, Jeff Koplin (R) Tonasket, Anthony (Tony) Hawley (R) Okanogan, and Court Creighton (R) Winthrop.
Douglas County Sheriff Harvey Gjesdal has also declined to run for another term. Candidates who have filed for Gjesdal’s seat include Kevin Morris (R) of Bridgeport, and Leeon Leyde (R) of Wenatchee.
Steve Jenkins will not seek another term as Douglas County Commissioner for District 3. Those filing to fill that position include Mark Straub (R) of Orondo, and Norman (Buck) Tupling (R) of Mansfield.
Arian Noma (R) with the firm of Thomason Law & Justice in Pateros is challenging Brandon E. Platter (D) Omak for the Okanogan County Prosecuting Attorney’s office.
Christine Brown (D) Kennewick will try to unseat Republican incumbent Dan Newhouse for the office of U.S. Representative District 4 that covers Adams, Benton, Douglas, Franklin, Grant, Okanogan, Walla Walla and Yakima counties.
Brown visited 13 cities and towns across the District from Oroville to Moses Lake, May 7-11, on her Big Table Tour that brought her to the Bridgeport Public Library on May 9. In an intimate discussion with Bridgeport residents, Brown discussed her platform and the issues like health care, immigration and climate change that she believes are high on voters’ lists this year.
Clark Cooper of Brewster was not running for any office, but on Tuesday, May 22, the Okanogan County Auditor’s Office notified him by mail that he had been nominated to fill the office of Republican Precinct Committee Officer.
“I called the auditor’s office and spoke with deputy auditor Jessica Maher as soon as I received the notice,” said Cooper. “The deadline to withdraw had already passed but she said she would take care of it.”
This isn’t Cooper’s first brush with elective office. Last year an anonymous prankster nominated Cooper online for a position as Brewster School District Director opposing Maria Maldonado. Despite his efforts to discourage voters, Cooper won by a small margin but declined to fill the seat.

Okanogan, candidates

Comments

No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here