Candidate filing period produces challengers for some state, county offices
CHERYL SCHWEIZER | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 5 months AGO
A voter places a ballot in the box during the August 2021 primary. Candidate filing for the 2022 election closed Friday.
File photo
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 23, 2022 1:20 AM
GRANT/ADAMS COUNTIES — The filing deadline to run for office in Washington at the county and state level was Friday. Several officials that represent Grant and Adams counties at the local and state level are running for reelection.
The 2020 census and the resulting revision of legislative district boundaries meant some changes for Grant and Adams counties. Portions of southern Grant County and western Adams County were added to the 15th Legislative District, which previously stopped at the Yakima-Grant county line. Portions of northern Grant County were added to the Seventh District, mostly from the 12th District, which no longer includes any of Grant County.
Incumbent Grant County Commissioner Cindy Carter (R) will face two challengers for her seat, and incumbent Adams County Commissioner Terry Thompson (R) will have one opponent. Three people are running to replace retiring Grant County Sheriff Tom Jones. Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner (R) will have a single opponent, and so will 13th District State Representative Tom Dent (R-Moses Lake).
The filing period for the 2022 primary election closed Friday. The primary election is scheduled for Aug. 2.
Ron Fode (R) Moses Lake, will oppose Dent in the primary, who was first elected in 2014.
Carter, who is running for her fifth term, will be challenged by Dan DeLano (R), Ephrata, and Jeff Foster (R) of Moses Lake.
Miguel “Mike” Garza (R), Othello, is running against Thompson for the seat on the Adams County Commission.
Jones announced in March that he would not run for reelection, and three candidates have filed for the office. Joe Kriete (R), currently chief deputy of investigations for GCSO, and former Mattawa Police Chief Joe Harris (R) both filed to compete for Grant County’s top badge. Moses Lake farmer James Baker (R) also filed for the job.
Wagner will be challenged by Ritzville police officer Matthew Carlson (R). Wagner was appointed as sheriff in 2015 and was elected to his first full term in 2018.
Incumbent Grant County Auditor Michelle Jaderlund (R) also drew a challenger, Richard Stevens (I), Ephrata. Incumbent Grant County Clerk Kim Allen (R) has two challengers, Marla Roduner (R) and Ulises Infante (R), both of Ephrata. Grant County Assessor Melissa McKnight (R) will be opposed by James Liebrecht (I), of Moses Lake.
Melissa Chlarson will challenge incumbent Anna Gigliotti for the open position on the Grant County Superior Court. Gigliotti was appointed to the seat in 2021. Currently, Chlarson is the court commissioner for the Grant County District Court.
Incumbents Andrea Russell and Carolyn Benzel both will be running unopposed for their positions as Adams County District Court judges. Incumbent Grant County District Court judges Brian Barlow, Brian Gwinn and Nick Wallace all will run unopposed as well. Judgeships are non-partisan positions.
Incumbent Grant County Public Utility District commissioners Nelson Cox and Terry Pyle did not attract any challengers. Public utility district commissioners are non-partisan positions.
Grant County Prosecutor Kevin McCrae (R), Grant County Treasurer Darryl Pheasant (I) and Grant County Coroner Craig Morrison (R) all are running unopposed.
Adams County Assessor Veronica Rodriguez (R), Adams County Auditor Heidi Hunt (R) and Adams County Clerk Katie Sloan (R) didn’t attract any challengers. Adams County Prosecutor Randy Flyckt (R) is running unopposed, and so is Adams County Treasurer Kayla Meise (R).
Republican Judy Warnick (R-Moses Nake), state Senator for the 13th District, will run unopposed for a new term in the Washington State Senate, and incumbent 13 District Representative Alex Ybarra (R-Quincy) will run unopposed as well.
Incumbent state representatives Mary Dye (R-Pomeroy) and Joe Schmick (R-Colfax), both representing the Ninth District, will run unopposed.
Seventh District incumbent representative Jacquelin Maycumber (R-Republic) will face a challenge from Lonny Ray Williams (R). Incumbent Seventh District Representative Joel Kretz (R-Addy) and incumbent Senator Shelly Short (R-Republic) will run unopposed.
Incumbent 15th District senator Jim Honeyford, (R-Sunnyside) faces a challenge from Nikki Torres (R), Pasco. Incumbent 15th District representative Bruce Chandler (R-Zillah) will run unopposed.
The changes in district boundaries meant incumbent representative Jeremie Dufault no longer lived in the district, so he’s not on the ballot. Bryan Sandlin (R-Zillah) is running unopposed for the second 15th District House seat.
ARTICLES BY CHERYL SCHWEIZER
GCFD 8 firefighter sustains minor injuries when hit by car
MATTAWA — A Grant County Fire District 8 officer sustained minor injuries Wednesday when he was hit by a driver subsequently arrested for DUI. Battalion Chief Doug Anderson and GCFD 8 crews were on the scene of a non-injury collision at about 10:30 p.m. when a car drove through the crash scene, according to a media release from the Grant County Sheriff's Office. The driver, Jorge Ramirez Suarez, 33, Mattawa, allegedly drove through the crash scene, hit Anderson in the leg, and kept going without stopping, according to the GCSO. He was subsequently booked into the Grant County Adult Correctional Facility on suspicion of DUI, vehicular assault and hit-and-run. Anderson was treated at the scene. He joined GCFD 8 in 1998 as a volunteer firefighter, said Barb Davis, the district's business manager, and is still a volunteer. He has served as a GCFD 8 captain, assistant chief and interim chief, as well as battalion chief.
Comment period still open for 2027 Grant PUD budget
EPHRATA — Grant County Public Utility District customers can still submit their opinions on the proposed 2027 budget in writing on the PUD website until the budget is adopted. Utility district commissioners are scheduled to vote on the final budget Nov. 24. The PUD is projected to spend $738.1 million in 2027, according to a presentation at the budget hearing Oct. 27. That's about a 5% increase over the 2026 budget. Some of those expenses will be offset by money the PUD gets from its customers and from selling power to outside customers. That's projected to be about $224.6 million.
Two hospitalized after collision near Othello
OTHELLO — Two people were injured and hospitalized when a car collided with a semitruck about 12 miles west of Othello Wednesday morning. According to a press memo from the Washington State Patrol, Leslie Villalobos, 23, was driving south on Road D Southeast at about 8:15 a.m. when she failed to slow down at the intersection. Rigoberto Pruneda, 41, Othello, was driving west on SR 26 when Villalobos's car entered the intersection, the WSP memo said. Trooper Jeremy Weber, WSP District 6 public information officer, said Pruneda attempted to steer out of the way of her vehicle, which is difficult to do in a semitruck.