Candidate filing period generates multiple primary races

EPHRATA — The August primary ballot will include races for the Moses Lake, Quincy, Warden and Ephrata city councils, Grand Coulee mayor, and the Ephrata School Board. The city of Warden and the town of George each will have a new mayor.

One race on the Samaritan Healthcare Board of Commissioners will go to the primary, but not the same one that looked like it would be on the primary ballot. Three seats on the Coulee City Town Council will be on the primary ballot.

The filing period for the 2023 election ended Friday.

Moses Lake council incumbent David Eck will face three challengers for his seat in the primary. Jeremy Nolan, Gerrit Klein and Victor Lombardi all filed for the job along with Eck. In all primary races the top two candidates will advance to the general election in November.

Mike Warren, JoBeth Carlson and Damon Powell will be running for the Ephrata City Council seat being vacated by William Coe, who did not file for election. Warden City Council incumbent Lori Watson-Esparza will face challengers Jesus Martinez and Lelani Pruneda for her council job.

Linda Huber, Branden Jorgensen and Erin Corriea will compete for the seat on the Coulee City Town Council being vacated by Jennifer Schwartz. Schwartz actually filed for a different council seat, challenging incumbent Steve Bond. Craig Brown and Jamie Mann Jorgensen also filed for Bond’s seat. Kerry Fuller and Richard Heiberg will challenge incumbent April Harward for her seat on the Coulee City Town Council.

Manny Rodriguez, Jim Kling and Marcus Westra will compete in the primary for a seat on the Quincy City Council. Incumbent Sonia Padron did not file for reelection. Mike Eylar, Chuck Crowe and Kimberly Christensen will compete to replace Paul Townsend as Grand Coulee mayor. Townsend did not file for election.

Rosalia Martinez, currently a member of Warden’s council, is the lone candidate for the job of Warden mayor. Incumbent Tony Massa did not file for reelection. Soap Lake Mayor Michele Agliano will be challenged by current Soap Lake City Council member Allen DuPuy.

Incumbent George Mayor Gerene Nelson didn’t file for the mayor’s job; Juan Villalpando is the only candidate to file for George mayor. Nelson did file for a seat on the George City Council, a job that drew a second candidate, Brulee Hoskins Tofflemoyer.

Three candidates filed for a seat on the Ephrata School Board being vacated by Bill Correll. Shawn Cardwell, Jordan Hansen and Mike Fluerkins will be on the primary ballot.

Katherine Christian will compete against two challengers for her seat on the Samaritan Healthcare Board of Commissioners. The challengers are Brandon Penix and Elliot DeLong. One of three candidates for the other open seat on the Samaritan commission, Joe Ketterer, withdrew his candidacy. Incumbent Dale Paris will be challenged for the seat by Joe Akers.

Moses Lake council incumbent David Skaug will face a challenger, Elisia Dalluge Eklund. Coulee City Council incumbent Travis Leining also faces a challenger, Karen Powers.

Two incumbents will be challenged for their seats on the Othello School Board. Incumbent Kelli Camp will face Aaron Gerber, and incumbent Thalia Lemus-DeLeon is being challenged by Isauro Pruneda Jr. Dayna Ruiz and Bart Yeates will run in the general election for a seat on the Quincy School Board; incumbent Chris Baumgartner did not file for reelection.

The two incumbents on the QSD board will face challengers. Shannon Durfee and incumbent Heather Folks-Lambert will run for one seat, and incumbent Jack Foglesong and Rita Keene for the second seat.

Mattawa Mayor Maria Celaya also will face a challenger, Jaime Gutierrez. Incumbent Fabiola Hernandez has a challenger, Amanda Havens, for her seat on the Mattawa City Council.

Stanton Fanning and Ryan Piercy will be running for an open seat on the Royal City City Council; incumbent Mackenzee Brown Anderson did not file for reelection.

Incumbent Odessa School Board member Carmen Weishaar will be challenged by Amanda Wallace for her seat, and incumbent Christine Crossley also drew a challenger, Cory Kramer.

Soap Lake City Council incumbent JoAnn Rushton will be challenged by Judith Gorman. Peter Sharp and Megan Gould will be running for one of the other Soap Lake council seats after incumbent Kat Sanderson did not file for reelection.

Joe Harris will challenge incumbent Patric Connelly for a seat on the Port of Quincy commission. Incumbent Wesley Seig will face a challenger, Chris Wilson, for his seat on the Port of Hartline commission.

Incumbent K.L. (Buck) Neff will be challenged by Andrew Koeppen for his seat on the Grant County Fire District 5 commission. Incumbent Mel Lotz will compete against Perry Merriel for the open commission seat for Grant County Fire District 13.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at cschweizer@columbiabasinherald.com.