As filing week begins, a number of surprise candidates make their campaigns official

Some well-known former elected leaders in the Spokane area are looking to get back into the game, having filed for public office during the opening days of filing week.

Anyone who wants to run for elected office in Washington during the August primary has to officially file to run between Monday and Friday. While most candidates announce weeks or months in advance, a number of latecomers and surprise challengers sometimes emerge at the last minute.

Former state Rep. Rob Chase, a longtime political operative and supporter of former Rep. Matt Shea, will challenge incumbent Tim Hattenburg for a seat on the Spokane Valley City Council.

Running for another seat on the Spokane Valley City Council, incumbent Arne Woodard will face off again against Al Merkel. The two previously squared off in 2019, and Merkel also ran unsuccessfully for a separate seat in 2017.

Another former state representative, George Orr, a former firefighter who represented the fourth legislative district in the early ’90s, is running for a seat on the Spokane Valley Fire Department board. He will be running against Diana Wilhite, a financial adviser and former mayor of Spokane Valley, and Rick Freier, a recently retired firefighter and handler of arson dog Mako.

Though only three candidates had announced their bids for mayor of Spokane, a fourth entered the fray this week. Incumbent Nadine Woodward and challengers Tim Archer and Lisa Brown are joined by Kelly Stevens. Stevens was not immediately reached Tuesday, but appears to have made a campaign account on Facebook as early as 2017.

The field through Tuesday

Spokane City Council:

District 1: Michael Cathcart

District 2: Cyndi Donahue, Katey Treloar

District 3: Darren McCrea, Earl Moore, Kitty Klitzke, Esteban Herevia, Christopher Savage

Spokane City Council President: Kim Plese

Spokane Mayor: Nadine Woodward, Lisa Brown, Kelly Stevens, Tim Archer

City of Spokane Valley:

Position 2: Jessica Yaeger, Rachel Briscoe

Position 3: Arne Woodard, Al Merkel

Position 6: Rob Chase, Tim Hattenburg

Spokane County Superior Court:

Position 7: Jacquelyn High-Edward

Position 8: Marla Polin

Spokane School District:

Position 5: Mike Wiser

Mead School District:

District 2: Denny Denholm

District 3: Jaime Stacy, Jennifer Kilman

District 4: David Knaggs, Michael Cannon

Central Valley School District:

District 1: Cindy McMullen, Jeff Brooks

District 3: Debra Long, Stephanie Jerdon

District 4: Keith Clark, Anniece Barker

Spokane Valley Fire:

Position 5: George Orr, Rick Freier, Diana Wilhite