Heat is on in county elections
Voters will have choices to make in at least five of the seven Spokane County offices up for election this year.
Multiple candidates have already filed to run for county commission, auditor and assessor. Competition also is expected for sheriff and treasurer.
But it’s uncertain whether competition will file by today’s deadline to run for clerk or prosecuting attorney.
Only the incumbent prosecuting attorney, Republican Steve Tucker, and clerk, Republican Thomas Fallquist, have filed for their positions. County Democratic Chairwoman Sharon Smith said she knows of no Democrats who will file for clerk, but a person she declined to name still was considering on Thursday whether she would run for prosecutor.
Two higher profile local politicians announced this week they would enter the fray for county office.
Spokane City Councilman Brad Stark will run for assessor, and former County Commissioner Skip Chilberg said Thursday he will file to run for treasurer
Stark, 26, is challenging incumbent County Assessor Ralph Baker, 53, in September’s Republican primary. Stark would have to resign from City Council if elected assessor.
The winner of the race will face Democrat Judy Personett, 65, in the November election. Personett, chairwoman of the Washington state Nursing Care Quality Assurance Commission, narrowly lost a race against Jim West in 1998 for his state Senate seat.
Baker said Thursday that his leadership has modernized the office and created efficiency and accountability for the taxpayers.
His opponents argue that he has ignored employee concerns and has a poor record of customer service.
Stark said he has been active in Democratic and Republican campaigns and given to candidates on both sides. In May he donated $100 to the campaign of Chris Marr, a Democrat running for state Senate.
But Stark said his allegiance is with the GOP because he holds conservative opinions on economic matters.
“I definitely, most wholeheartedly, am Republican,” Stark said, adding that he isn’t “limited by party labels.”
Chilberg, a Democrat, will face the chief deputy treasurer, Republican Bob Wrigley.
Chilberg served 10 years as treasurer starting in 1983. He was elected a county commissioner in 1992, but left the spot in 1995 after he was appointed to serve on the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board where he served nine years. On Monday, he will give up his job at AmericanWest Bank so he can participate in the campaign.
“The county treasurer job is the best job I’ve ever had,” said Chilberg, adding that he missed county politics. “I hope people will remember that I did a good job when I was there before.”
The winner of the race will replace Democrat Linda Wolverton, who has endorsed Wrigley, who has worked in the treasurer’s office since 1997.
“It’s always good for voters to have a choice, but it doesn’t change my endorsement of Bob because of the job he’s done in the office,” Wolverton said.