Races set for fall elections in Grant County

Moses Lake City Council to see two contested races

COLUMBIA BASIN — Most races are set for local elections this fall, and voters will see a handful of contested races throughout councils and districts in the Columbia Basin.

Candidate filing concluded at 5 p.m. Friday in Grant County, with just one race still up in the air in Soap Lake. About a half dozen other races with at least three candidates vying for one spot will see primary challenges.

In the race for Moses Lake City Council, two of the four incumbents have secured their spots and the remaining two did not again file for their positions.

Current Mayor Ronald C. Covey and Councilman Brent Reese will each go into the fall without a challenger in their bids for re-election on Moses Lake City Council Position Nos. 2 and 4 respectively.

The remaining two spots will each see a newcomer next year, as Councilmen Lee Blackwell and Steve Shinn have not filed for re-election. The seat currently held by Blackwell will likely see a three-way primary between Bill Ecret, Fernando Alvarez and Richard H. Beeson for Council Position No. 1. In the race for Council Position No. 5, Chester W. Paine and James H. Liebrecht will vie for the seat currently held by Shinn.

Other towns throughout the Basin also have a number of contested races coming their way this fall. Incumbent Ephrata Mayor Chris Jacobson will face challenger Steve Oliver this fall. The other contested race in Ephrata will be for Council Position No. 2 where Chamber of Commerce President Janice Moore will take on incumbent Councilman Mark S. Wanke.

The newly sworn in Mayor of Othello will face a challenger in another city councilman this fall in that race. Shannon McKay became mayor with the resignation of Jeannie Sanders last month, and will face fellow councilman Marc Spohr in the race for mayor this fall.

Also in Othello, Chasity Krebs will take on incumbent Councilwoman Eleanor Brodahl in the race for Council Position No 2. The Council Position No. 3 spot will have three people in Susan C. Hobler Inks, Kenneth Caylor and Dale W. Wyman all running for the spot.

Elsewhere in Adams County, Phil Kent and Steve Paslay are running against one another for Position No. 2 on the Lind Town Council.

The only contested race at the City of Quincy will be that of the mayor's position. Incumbent Mayor Dick Zimbelman will face a challenger this fall in Peter M. Smith for the spot.

In Coulee City, four people have filed for the mayor's spot with Maxine Maxwell, Corey Minatani Richard H. Heiberg and Bob Little likely facing each other in the primaries. The other contested race in Coulee City will be for Council Position No. 4, where Jeffery Scott Roberts will face Nicole Robinson.

Electric City will also see four people on the ballot for mayor. Incumbent Raymond R. Halsey will face Don Daniels, Troy L. Ritter and Bob Rupe for the Mayor's spot. Electric City's only other race is also a contested one, with three people, Wayne Svaren, Jerry Sands and Mark A. Borden each looking to be elected to Council Position No. 2 currently held by Rupe.

In Royal City, current Mayor Phillip J. Leitz will face current councilman Justin Jenks this fall in the race for mayor. The other contested race in Royal City is that of Council Position No. 2 where Justin M. Brown and incumbent Jan Clark will run against one another for that position.

The City of Soap Lake will see at least two contested races this fall, but one of those races may be different after Grant County Auditor Bill Varney speaks with attorneys about the race. Incumbent Position No. 5 Councilman John Hillman is set to face incumbent Position No. 3 Councilwoman Marina Romary for the Council Position No. 5 spot, but Romary filed papers at the last minute to file for the Council Position No. 4 spot currently being run for by Martin D. Ringhoffer. Ringhoffer originally filed for the Council Position No. 5 spot, but changed his filing to Council Position No. 4 after Romary filed to run against him in Council Position No. 5.

Romary's papers to re-file for position No. 4 had been faxed to the Grant County Courthouse Friday afternoon, but did not make it into the elections office until after the 5 p.m. deadline. Varney said Friday that he would have to talk to the Grant County Prosecutor's Office before he knew whether or not he could accept them.

The other contested race in Soap Lake is that of Council Position No. 3, where Melissa DeLancey will take on Kandis (Kandi) Lair.