By Dennis Box-The Courier-Herald
The election bells are ringing and the filing period is right around the corner.
The first day for candidates seeking public office to file is June 4 and the period runs through June 8.
According to Lori Augino, Pierce County election manager, people must either come into the office or file by mail. Candidates filing by mail must send a notarized application with the correct filing fee.
There are four City Council position open this year in Bonney Lake. The filing fee is $48 for council seats.
Council seat No. 2, which is at-large and currently occupied by Mark Hamilton, is open. Ward No. 2 seat is open, Jim Rackley is the current member, and Ward No. 3 is up, represented by Cheryle Noble. Phil Deleo's seat in Ward No. 5 is also up this year.
Each of the council positions are four-year terms.
There are three Sumner School Board seats up for election: District 2, held by Jeff DeMarre; District 3, represented by Antoni H. Froehling; and District 4, Greg Hanon.
There is no filing fee for school board seats and the terms are four years.
Fire Commission seat No. 1 in East Pierce Fire and Rescue Fire District 22 is open. There is no filing fee and it is a six-year term.
Port Commission Position No. 3 is open. The term is four years and the filing fee is $60.
The filing period was moved this year to June from the end of July because the state Legislature set the state primary for Aug. 21, about a month earlier then in previous years.
“When the Legislature move the primary we had to move the filing date,” Augino said. “The primary was moved so we get ballots mailed to military personnel and people living overseas. With the old primary dates we only had a couple of days to mail the ballots, so any delays in certification would affect overseas voters.”
The Pierce County Auditor's office is at 2401 S. 35th St. Room 200, Tacoma. The phone number is 253-798-7427 and the Web site is www.piercecountywa.org.
Dennis Box can be reached at dbox@courierherald.com.
