Crowded fields and last-minute surprises: Candidate filing week is over
Unless you’re a superior court judge, don’t expect an easy election this year in Spokane County.
With candidate filing week concluded, nearly every local race has at least two candidates, and many have three or more.
There have been a handful of surprise announcements this week, including for a number of latecomers to Spokane City Council races, and the late entry of city employee Kelly Stevens, who has not responded to repeated requests for an interview, into the mayoral race.
Squeaking in just hours before the filing deadline is a fifth mayoral candidate, Patrick McKann. McKann, who could not be immediately reached for an interview, has worked at CHAS Health in business analysis and research, and was formerly vice president of population health. In 2020, he was one of 30 applicants aiming to fill the council seat vacated after Breean Beggs won election to the City Council president seat.
The other surprise Friday was for a race that hasn’t had much development for weeks, that of Spokane City Council President. Former business owner Kim Plese, who ran as a Republican last year in a failed campaign for Spokane County Commission, and current City Councilwoman Betsy Wilkerson both announced their candidacies before the end of winter.
The race was one of the few with no new developments, until retired U.S. Airforce Lt. Colonel Andy Rathbun on Friday officially filed to run for the office. He ran unsuccessfully in 2019 for a seat on the Spokane City Council representing the northwest district, narrowly losing to Councilwoman Karen Stratton.
“Spokane’s future can’t be about right versus left, it must be about right versus wrong,” he wrote in a news release.
In a brief interview, however, Rathbun made it clear he planned on taking a particular side of the political spectrum, saying he was running to take on the “gang of five that’s been ruining all of Spokane politics,” referring to the City Council’s left-leaning supermajority.
Rathbun’s campaign announcement press release ignored entirely the candidacy of Plese, turning his full attention to Wilkerson, who is a member of the supermajority and is endorsed by outgoing City Council President Breean Beggs.
He criticized Wilkerson’s role in the controversial 2022 redistricting process, referring to it as “sponsoring gerrymandering,” and accusing her of a campaign finance violation. Staff at the state Public Disclosure Commission confirmed that a complaint had been filed by prolific campaign finance activist Glen Morgan, but could not confirm the details of the complaint pending review.
Rathbun also went after Wilkerson for asking for a search warrant before turning over security camera footage from a group home she owns during an investigation into a nearby murder.
There were a number of other surprise candidates that announced earlier this week, including retired respiratory therapist Earl Moore and Darren McCrea, who opened Eastern Washington’s first medical marijuana dispensary, both running in the crowded six-way race to represent northwest Spokane.
They hope to fill a seat vacated by outgoing Councilwoman Karen Stratton, and will face environmental advocate Kitty Klitzke, Esteban Herevia, who until recently served as president and CEO of Spokane Pride, Meals on Wheels Spokane board president Christopher Savage, and Randy McGlenn II, former chair of the state Libertarian Party.
The race to represent south Spokane is less crowded, with a four-way contest between longtime Spokane activist and political organizer Paul Dillon, small-business owner and U.S. Air Force honorary commander Cyndi Donahue, and educator Katey Treloar. Purchasing manager Mike Naccarato, whose well known Italian family has deep roots in the region, joined the race this week.
“I just recently turned 40, I’ve been thinking about my life, my career, and how old my kids are, and I’m always telling my kids to try things,” Naccarato said in a Friday interview. “It’s better to try and to fail rather than not try at all.”
A number of former longtime politicians have reentered the fray, including former state representatives Rob Chase and George Orr, who are running for a seat on the Spokane Valley City Council and Spokane Valley Fire Department board, respectively. Chase will face incumbent Tim Hattenburg, while Orr is 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.
School board races are also shaping up to be particularly competitive this year. Three people are campaigning for a seat on the Spokane Public Schools board, including incumbent Mike Wiser, Ericka Lalka and David Voltz, but other districts are significantly more packed. One board seat in the Deer Park School District has attracted five candidates, while four board seats on the Medical lake School District have garnered 17 candidates.
Everyone who has filed
Spokane County Superior Court
Position 7: Jacquelyn High-Edward
Position 8: Marla Polin
Spokane Mayor
Nadine Woodward, Lisa Brown, Kelly Stevens, Tim Archer, Patrick McKann
Spokane City Council President
Kim Plese, Betsy Wilkerson, Andy Rathbun
Spokane City Council:
District 1: Michael Cathcart, Lindsey Shaw
District 2: Cyndi Donahue, Katey Treloar, Mike Naccarato, Paul Dillon
District 3: Darren McCrea, Earl Moore, Kitty Klitzke, Esteban Herevia, Christopher Savage, Randy McGlenn
City of Spokane Valley
Position 2: Jessica Yaeger, Rachel Briscoe, Adam Smith
Position 3: Arne Woodard, Al Merkel
Position 6: Rob Chase, Tim Hattenburg
Airway Heights City Council:
Position 1: Hank Bynaker
Position 2: Kevin J. Richey
Position 3: Veronica Messing
Position 5: Larry Bowman
Position 7: Jennifer Morton
Cheney City Council
Position 2: Vincent Barthels, Rebecca Long
Position 5: Jason Nazzaro
Position 6: Jacquelyn Belock, Pete Montague
Position 7: Danielle LaBar
Deer Park City Council
Position 2: Helen (Dee) Cragun, Fred Senn
Position 4: Billy Costello
Position 5: Scott Campbell, Diane Pfaeffle
Liberty Lake Mayor
Cris Kaminskas
Liberty Lake City Council
Position 1: Linda M. Ball, Phil Folyer
Position 3: Larry Marshall, Dan Dunne, Keith Kopelson
Position 4: Travis L. Scott, Jed Spencer
Position 5: Mike Behary, Annie Kurtz
Position 6: Michael Hamblet, Mike T. Kennedy
Position 7: Teresa Tapao-Hunt, Wendy Van Orman
Medical Lake City Council
Position 2: Dwight Crofoot, Ted Olson
Position 5: Lance Speirs
Position 6: Keli Shaffer
Position 7: Chad Pritchard
Millwood City Council
Position 3: Kelly Stravens
Position 4: Andy Van Hees
Position 5: Shaun Culler
Spokane School Board
Position 5: Mike Wiser, Ericka Lalka, David Voltz
Mead School Board
District 2: Denny Denholm, Alan Nolan
District 3: Jaime Stacy, Jennifer Kilman
District 4: David Knaggs, Michael Cannon
Central Valley School Board:
District 1: Cindy McMullen, Jeff Brooks
District 3: Debra Long, Stephanie Jerdon
District 4: Keith Clark, Anniece Barker
Nine Mile Falls School Board
Position 1: Stephany Harper, Kenny Wuesthoff
Position 2: Eric Olsen
Position 3: Kirsten Foose, Winnie Schlittenhart
Medical Lake School Board
District 1: Lennelle Spillman, Gerri Johnson, Bryan Musser
District 2: Dolores Peterson, Wayne E Terry, Michael Gerry, Alexis Alexander, Anita Hotchkiss, Sueann Casey
District 3: Dennis D Schilling, Laura Elliot Parsons, John T. Stanley, John Potter
District 4: Mark Hudson, Ron Cooper, Steve Stimson, Nick Hawkins
Freeman School Board
District 1: Bill Morphy
District 2: Nathan Talbott
District 3: Danielle Santman
District 4: David Teague
District 5: Annie Keebler
Cheney School Board
District 2: Elizabeth Winer
District 3: Henry C. Browne Jr.
District 4: Bill Hanson, John Boerger, Rick Flynn
District 5: Mitch Swenson, Ivan Khala, Bill Lathrop
East Valley School Board
District 1: Theresa Noack
District 2: Laura Gates
Liberty School Board
District 1: Stephanie Stout
District 5: Mark Bullock
West Valley School Board
District 3: Tricia Phillips, Amy Anselmo, S. John Dubois
District 4: Adam Mortensen
Deer Park School Board
District 1: Gina Langbehn, Craig Phillips
District 4: Gerry Ashby, Carri Breckner,
District at large 5: Meegan Ware, Eric Keller, Shauneen Flugel, Richard Price, Samantha Jordan
Riverside School Board
District 2: Matt Himlie
District 3: Joslyn James
District 4: Bob Carroll
District 5: Peter Finn, Tommy Mowles
Spokane Valley Fire
Position 5: George Orr, Rick Freier, Diana Wilhite