No big surprises as filing week progesses rather sluggishly on second day
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May 18—Filing week continued its rather sluggish start Tuesday.
Anyone who wants to run for elected office in Washington during the August primary has to officially file to run between Monday and Friday. Two days in, the list of filers doesn't include many surprising names.
Nearly everyone who's formally entered the race so far is either an incumbent or someone who already announced their candidacy.
At the local level, Republican Kim Plese filed to run for county commissioner. Plese, sister of Superior Court Judge Annette Plese and former owner of Plese Printing and Marketing, is vying for District 1, which covers much of the western part of the city.
Tara Carter, a District Court clerk, filed to run for county commissioner as an independent in District 5. She'll be up against Republican incumbent Al French.
Spokane County Auditor Vicky Dalton filed on Tuesday. Dalton is the county's only elected Democrat and has held the auditor's job since 1998.
Republican incumbent Larry Haskell has company in the race for county prosecutor. Stephanie Olsen, a former Spokane County deputy prosecutor and a Republican, will try to take his job.
Over in the 3rd Legislative District, Rep. Timm Ormsby (D-Spokane) picked up a second challenger: Republican Natalie Poulson. Poulson appeared in the news this fall when Finch Elementary placed her on administrative leave for refusing to wear a mask in violation of the state's COVID-19 safety mandates.
A few familiar faces filed to run for reelection to the Legislature.
Rep. Jenny Graham, a Spokane Republican, will hope to continue advocating for the 6th Legislative District.
Rep. Mary Dye, a Pomeroy Republican from the 9th Legislative District, wants to keep her job in Olympia. Joe Schmick, Dye's fellow Republican representative in the 9th District, is also seeking reelection.
At the federal level, a handful of candidates have decided to take on Democratic Sen. Patty Murray. Richland's Tiffany Smiley, a Republican, is the most notable so far.
In the 5th Congressional District, Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers filed to run for reelection. She's up against two Democrats: Spokane Valley's Ann Marie Danimus and Spokane's Natasha Hill.
The field through Tuesday
Spokane County Commission
District 1: Kim Plese (R)
District 2: Amber Waldref (D), Michael Cathcart (R)
District 3: Josh Kerns (R)
District 4: Mary Kuney (R)
District 5: Al French (R), Don Harmon (R), Tara Carter (independent)
Spokane County prosecutor: Larry Haskell (R), Stephanie Olsen (R)
Spokane County auditor: Vicky Dalton (D)
Spokane County treasurer: Michael Baumgartner (R)
Spokane County assessor: Tom Konis (R)
Spokane County clerk: Tim Fitzgerald (R)
3rd Legislative District:
Representative, pos. 1: Marcus Riccelli (D), Scotty Nicol (R). Representative, pos. 2: Timm Ormsby (D), Patrick Spurlock (no party affiliation), Natalie Poulson (R)
4th Legislative District:
Representative, pos. 1: Suzanne Schmidt (R). Representative, pos. 2: Rob Chase (R)
6th Legislative District:
Representative, pos. 1: Mike Volz (R). Representative, pos. 2: Jenny Graham (R). Senator: Jeff Holy (R)
7th Legislative District:
Representative, pos. 1: Jacquelin Maycumber (R). Representative, pos. 2: Joel Kretz (R). Senator: Shelly Short (R)
9th Legislative District:
Representative, pos. 1: Mary Dye (R). Representative, pos. 2: Joe Schmick (R)
