Tri-City school board races shaping up to be fiery. Here’s who has filed so far

A controversial effort to recall members of the Richland School Board has spurred candidates on both sides of the issue to run for office.

And conservatives are taking aim at moderates from the Kennewick School Board.

Filing week began Monday for candidates planning to run for office this year, and local school board races are quickly taking shape.

Deadline for filing is 4 p.m. Friday, May 19.

Tri-City school boards could see large turnover this cycle. Each of the “big three” districts — Kennewick, Richland and Pasco — have a majority of their seats up for reelection this year.

School board seats have traditionally not attracted such attention and appetite from prospective candidates. Meetings are often long and the positions are usually unpaid.

But in recent years, despite being nonpartisan positions, school boards have become a lightning rod for “culture war” issues and ideological battles. The COVID pandemic heightened this, with parents and community members coming out to debate mask and vaccine mandates.

The primary responsibilities of a school board include hiring and evaluating the superintendent, setting the vision and goals of the district, reviewing and adopting school policies, passing annual or biannual budgets, and serving as a community representative, according to the Washington State School Directors’ Association.

If a seat attracts three or more candidates, it will appear on the Aug. 1 primary election. The top two vote-getters from that election then face off on Nov. 7.

Information on running for office and a full list of candidates from the Mid-Columbia who have filed can be found on the Secretary of State’s website.

Richland

Just four candidates had filed by Tuesday morning for seats on the Richland School Board, but several others were showing an intent to run based on filings with the Public Disclosure Commission.

Kari Williams, Eugene Nemeth, Nino Kapitula and Katrina Waters have been the only four so far to officially file for office.

Williams — a longtime volunteer and former teacher — is seeking a second term on the school board. She’ll be challenged by Waters, a lab fellow and chief scientist in biological sciences research at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Williams is one of the three school board members facing a potential recall from office. Signatures are being counted this week to determine if the question will be put to voters Aug. 1.

Nemeth, a senior nuclear facility manager for Amentum at the Waste Treatment Completion Company, a Bechtel subcontractor at the vitrification plant, filed to run for Jill Oldson’s seat on the school board.

And Kapitula, a frequent public commenter and supporter of the three board members facing the recall effort, has filed to run for Semi Bird’s seat.

And another possible contender for Bird’s seat is Chelsea Lee Beck. She is a PNNL scientist and published researcher, and has expressed interest in running by registering with the PDC.

Bird and Audra Byrd are also facing possible recall.

But neither Oldson nor Semi Bird had filed in the first couple days to retain their seats. Byrd is not up for reelection.

Bird says he will run for governor in 2024 as a Republican. In recent months, the constitutional conservative has criss-crossed the state, going from fundraising events to speaking events, in an effort to build name recognition and line his campaign coffers. He’s raised more than $60,000 in contributions so far, per PDC reports.

A recall effort to remove Williams, Bird and Byrd centers on the trio’s decision and the subsequent fallout over a vote on a surprise “mask optional” ordinance in February 2022.

A recall would not prevent them from being reelected for another term.

Kennewick

Kennewick School Board members Diane Sundvik, Michael Connors and Ron Mabry had each gained a single challenger as of Tuesday morning.

But none of the incumbents had yet filed to retain their seats.

Dustin Petersen filed for Mabry’s seat.

Petersen is a former Quincy councilman who currently works as senior territory manager at Ecolab. He’s also a Benton County Republican Party precinct committee officer, and had previously interned for former U.S. Congressman Ron Paul, according to previous Wenatchee World reports.

Mabry, a radiological engineer and facility manager at PNNL who served in the U.S. Navy, has served three full terms and is the most senior member on the Kennewick board.

Josh Miller, an orthopedic doctor and surgeon with Kadlec, has filed to run for a seat held by Sundvik, a retired Kennewick teacher who ran for and was elected to her first term in 2019.

Lisa Peppard has also filed to run for Sundvik’s seat. She’s a Tri-City-based artist who runs Artful Virgo.

Brittany Gledhill, co-owner of Gledhill Properties whose family also owns Gledhill Dental, filed for Connors’ seat.

Pasco

The Pasco School Board’s three newest members — Vincent Guerrero, John Kennedy and Rosa Torres — are all up for reelection this year.

So far, only Kennedy has filed to retain his seat, which makes up large parts of Southeast Pasco.

Steve Norberg, an agriculture regional specialist at WSU Franklin County Extension, filed campaign finance records to run for the board’s at-large seat, held by Torres.

Update: As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, May 16, the following candidates previously mentioned had filed to run: Jill Oldson, Richland School Board.