Mayor races attract a lot of attention

Published 12:09 pm Thursday, December 11, 2008

Buckley has five hoping to lead city government

By Kevin Hanson

The Courier-Herald

This year's campaign season could be more spirited than most on the Plateau.

Heading the list of intriguing battles are the mayoral races in both Enumclaw and Buckley, where incumbents are being challenged by current city council members. Wilkeson features a three-way race for mayor. And a race sure to generate media attention is a partisan battle for a seat on the King County Council.

The matchups for the fall elections - the September primary and November's general election - were established last week during Washington's official filing period.

Enumclaw

There were no surprises in the mayoral filing, as both incumbent mayor John Wise and council veteran Sean Krebs had announced their intentions weeks before.

With Krebs running for mayor and wife Jennifer Krebs opting against re-election, two vacancies were created on the council. Filing to fill the Position 7 seat were Athena Dean, who sought city office previously, and Jeff Coats. Filing for the Position 1 post were Liz Reynolds and Rena Boesche.

Incumbent councilmen Kevin Mahelona and Michael Ennis filed for re-election and are unopposed.

Buckley

There's a five-way race at the top, as Mayor John Blanusa is hoping to land another four-year term but faces opposition from three current council members - Randy Reed, Pat Johnson and Bev Schneider - plus Mark McNally.

Reed is at the end of his term, so his Position 3 spot is vacant. The only candidate filing for the position is Sandra Ramsey. Schneider (Position 4) and Johnson (Position 7) are mid-way through their terms and will remain on the council if unsuccessful in their mayoral bid; if one of them should win, her spot will be filled through a council appointment.

Marilyn Gregg did not seek re-election for her Position 2 post. That position will be filled by Cristi Boyle Barrett, as she was the only one to file.

Zoe Krieger, incumbent councilwoman in the District 1 seat, is unchallenged in her bid for re-election.

Black Diamond

Unopposed in their bids for re-election are Mayor Howard Botts and Position 2 councilman Jeff Bowie. The race for the Position 4 seat on the council features incumbent Andrew Williamson and challenger Rebecca Olness.

Wilkeson

Incumbent mayor Doug Paulson filed for re-election, but he's being challenged by John Magee and Beverly Lyons.

James Walker is the only one running for the Position 3 seat on the council.

Carbonado

Benjamin Burbank, who presently holds the Position 1 seat, is unchallenged and will fill another term.

King County Council

The race for the District 9 seat, which will represent the Enumclaw and Black Diamond areas, has the odd distinction of featuring two incumbent councilmen.

The council will shrink from 13 members to nine with the coming of 2006, meaning boundary lines had to be redrawn. Enumclaw resident Steve Hammond has been representing the south end of the county, but incumbent councilman Reagan Dunn also lives in the new district.

Both Hammond and Dunn are Republicans, meaning they'll battle it out in September's primary election. During the party's formal selection process, Hammond received the nod, but Dunn, who lives near Bellevue, had made it clear he would mount a challenge anyway.

The 9th District is huge, stretching north to take in a bit of Bellevue and reach the Issaquah city limits.

Filing for the District 9 seat on the Democratic side was Shirley Gaunt-Smith of Renton.

King County Executive

There's no drama on the Republican side, where current County Councilman David Irons has been chosen by the party to carry the GOP banner.

Things are more crowded on the Democratic side, where incumbent Ron Sims is seeking another term. He's being challenged by fellow Dems Michael Nelson of Burien and Karen Rispoli of Seattle.

Enumclaw School District

Voters will have a choice this time around, as both incumbents are facing opposition.

The District 2 race features incumbent Michael Goodfellow and challenger Cathy Dahlquist.

Competing for the District 5 seat are incumbent Andy Willner and challengers Christopher Van Hoof, Kathleen Michael and Gail Olver.

White River School District

Nothing will change, as three incumbents filed to keep their seats and all are unopposed. Remaining on the school board will be John McArtor, Denise Vogel and Joe Dieringer.

Carbonado School District

Incumbent Laurie McNabb was the only one to file for the Director District No. 2 position.

Fire District 28

David Hannity is unchallenged in his bid to retain his Position 1 seat on the board.