Filing delayed in two races in county because of slip-ups

Candidates for two local positions will have to apply for office next week because of recent changes that weren’t noticed before filing opened.

Although the delays are minor, they could generate a little confusion for potential candidates in Liberty Lake and the Deer Park School District.

Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton said the Elections Office wasn’t notified of a recent vacancy on the Liberty Lake City Council, which occurred when Dennis Paul resigned in April. The council chose Neal Olander from among six applicants for the opening, but that appointment is good only through the November election. The winner of the election will fill the spot through 2009.

Dalton said she didn’t know where the slip-up occurred. “Liberty Lake is usually very good about notifying us.”

The seat previously occupied by Paul is Position 2. Candidate applications for that seat will be accepted next week from Tuesday through Thursday.

But candidate applications for Liberty Lake mayor and City Council Positions 5 and 7 – which were scheduled to be on the ballot because those terms end this year – must be filed by 5 p.m. Friday of this week.

Applicants for Deer Park School District’s director from District 1 will also have to apply between Tuesday and next Thursday because of a change in numbers for the district’s positions; the Elections Office believed it was District 2 that was up for election this year.

But applicants for District 4 and the at-large district in the Deer Park School District must still sign up by 5 p.m. Friday.

The special filing periods are mandated by state laws that require public notice for offices up for election, Dalton said.

In other elections activity Wednesday, several candidates who have previously announced campaigns made it official by filing for office.

City Councilman Al French filed his paperwork to run for mayor, joining a field that includes Solid Waste Advisory Committee member Mike Noder, retiree Robert Kroboth and incumbent Mayor Dennis Hession.

Logan Neighborhood activist Donna McKereghan filed for the Spokane City Council seat in the Northeast District, joining Robert E. Stokes Jr., a VA Medical Center employee.

The city’s South District also has two candidates: Councilman Brad Stark filed Tuesday for re-election to his seat, joining Richard Rush, a member of the Cliff/Cannon neighborhood council.