August 20, 2008

Want to run? Better hurry
Vacancies remain for November election

By RODGER NICHOLS
of The Chronicle

     It may be the dog days of summer, but the brisk winds of the November election aren’t that far away. Next Tuesday, Aug. 26, marks the deadline for nonpartisan candidates to enter local races if they want to appear on the Nov. 4 election ballot. So far, some races have no candidate, and some candidates are running without opposition.
     The City of The Dalles will be electing a new mayor in November. Six-term mayor Robb Van Cleave announced earlier this year he would not seek a seventh term. He will be serving as the international chair of the Society for Human Resource Management for a two-year term, starting in 2009.
     So far, only Nikki Lesich, an ad sales representative with The Chronicle, has filed for the mayor’s office.
     Lesich was a longtime news director and ad sales representative with radio station Q-104.
     Three city council positions are up this November. Carolyn Wood has filed for the at-large position she currently holds, but has no opposition. Dan Spatz, executive director of resource development for Columbia Gorge Community College, has filed to retain his Position No. 2 seat, representing the west side of town. He is also unopposed.
     No one has yet filed for Position No. 4, which generally represents The Dalles east of Kelly Avenue. That seat is currently held by Rob Kovacich, chemistry instructor at Columbia Gorge Community College.
     Anyone interested in running for those postions must file with city clerk Julie Krueger at city hall before 5 p.m. Aug. 26.
     Two board postions at Northern Wasco County PUD will be on the November ballot. Both incumbents, Barbara Nagel in Subdivision 1, and Bill Ward in Subdivision 2 have filed to run again. So far they are unopposed.
     Three board postions - subdivisions 1, 3 and 5 - will be on the ballot for Chenowith Water PUD. So far, Subdivision 3 incumbent Tom Ashmore has filed to retain his position. Neither Howard Harris of Subdivision 1 nor Gene Tobie of Subdivision 5, the current incombuents, have yet filed for those seats, nor have any challengers.
     Those who wish to file for seats on either PUD board must do so before 5 p.m. Aug. 26 in the county clerk’s office at the Wasco County Courthouse.
     For the county itself, it’s too late for candidates to get on the ballot.
     Under state law for statutory counties, the elected offices — including sheriff, county clerk, treasurer, assessor and any vacancies — must file prior to the primary election. This year, the cutoff date for the May primary was March 11.
     The reason for the early filing is that if more than two candidates file, their names go on the ballot in the primary and only the top two will go forward to the general election.
     If only one person files for the primary, their name does not appear on the ballot, but will be the sole name on the ballot in the general election.
     That’s what happened in the case of Wasco County Sheriff Rick Eiesland, Clerk Karen LeBreton Coats and Assessor Tim Linn.
     There will be one partisan candidate on the ballot as well, but she will be unoposed.
     Sherry Holliday, Republican, is running for re-election as Wasco County Commissioner. She defeated a challenger in the primary to secure her party’s nomination. She also picked up enough write-in ballots in the Democratic primary to forestall any Democrat from appearing on the ballot.
     There will be one non-incumbent on the ballot, though.
     Wasco County Treasurer Judy Kiser is retiring after 34 years with the county. “I was 20 years old and I had just gotten married,” Kiser said Tuesday. “Sheriff Ernie Mosier hired me, back when it was the Wasco County Sheriff and Tax Collector. That’s how long ago it was.” Kiser said the county had been a good place to work, but she was ready to make the change, Patty Latham, currently secretary for the Commission on Children and Families, filed for the position before the March deadline and will appear as the sole name on the ballot.
     “I was interested in expanding my horizons,” Latham said Tuesday. “I was approached with the opportunity. I love working for the county, and I’d like to move up. This is my way of moving up. I also want to make a difference in the county.”
     Asked if she was concerned that the position might be eliminated or altered if the county passes a home rule charter, Latham said “The position I’m in is grant-funded, so it’s not guaranteed. This is the next step in my life, and if it goes on the past the four years. that’s a bonus for me. I figure they’re going to need a treasurer, whether elected or employee.”
     The treasurer position will also change when Latham takes office. Four years ago, the treasurer’s job was reduced to half-time when Wasco County hired Lynn Rassmussen as its finance manager.
     Now it’s moving back to a full-time position. Lynn Rasmussen explained: “The budget is transferring from the county clerk to me,” she said, “and so the treasurer duties I’ve picked up will be transferring back to the treasurer. Before, there was Linda May full time and Judy Kiser full time. When those two positions went to half-time; I came in and picked up what I could. Now I need to offload the treasurer’s stuff back to the treasurer so I can pick up the budget.”
     Who won’t be on the ballot this time?
     None of the seats on the Columbia Gorge Community College board are up this election. The next ones come due in June 2009.