Some races to be contested in 2021
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 years, 8 months AGO
Senior Reporter Cheryl Schweizer is a journalist with more than 30 years of experience serving small communities in the Pacific Northwest. She began her post-high-school education at Treasure Valley Community College and enerned her journalism degree at Oregon State University. After working for multiple publications, she has settled down at the Columbia Basin Herald and has been a staple of the newsroom for more than a decade. Schweizer’s dedication to her communities and profession has earned her the nickname “The Baroness of Bylines.” She covers a variety of beats including health, business and various municipalities. | May 26, 2021 1:00 AM
EPHRATA — One Royal City City Council race will be on the primary ballot, and Mattawa Mayor Maria Celaya will face a challenger. Othello Mayor Shawn Logan and Royal City Mayor Kent Anderson will run unopposed for new terms.
Filing for offices in the 2021 election was last week and ended Friday. The primary is scheduled for Aug. 3 and the general election is Nov. 2.
Three candidates, Ryan Piercy, Michael Christensen and Stanton Fanning, will compete for a seat on the Royal City City Council.
Celaya will be challenged for her job by Sun Hwang, currently a Mattawa City Council member.
Both open seats on the Wahluke School Board will be contested races. Nick Trejo will challenge incumbent Jesse Chiprez, and Luke Jenne and Cynthia de Victoria will compete for the seat vacated by Lorraine Jenne.
Incumbent Port of Othello commissioner Deena Vietzke also will face a challenger, Patrick Simmons.
Other city council and school board candidates will run unopposed. Incumbent Royal City City Council Member Tiffany Workinger was the only candidate for the second open seat.
Incumbents Genna Dorow, Corey Everett and John Lallas will run unopposed for the Othello City Council. All four incumbents on the Mattawa council, Wendy Lopez, Tony Acosta, Silvia Barajas and Vicente Acosta, will run unopposed.
Alison Huntiziger was the only candidate for one of the two open seats on the Royal City School District School Board. Incumbent Warren Small did not file for reelection. The second open seat on the Royal school board didn’t attract any candidates. Justin Brown, the incumbent, didn’t file for re-election.
Incumbents Jenn Stevenson, Ken Johnson and Lindsy Prows will run unopposed for their seats on the Othello School District School Board.
Three incumbent commissioners will run unopposed for seats on the Othello Parks & Recreation board, while two seats didn’t attract any candidates. The incumbents who filed for new terms are Frank Vasquez, Rolando Cerillo and Robert Pruneda.
Incumbent Lynda Bowers will run unopposed for a new term on the Othello Community Hospital board. Three seats on the Mattawa Clinic board did not attract any candidates. One seat was vacant prior to the election, and Tiffany Coulson and Christopher Schmidt are the incumbents in the other two offices. Neither filed for re-election.
Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.
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