116 Candidates File for Office in Lewis County as Filing Week Comes to an End

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As of Lewis County’s candidate filing deadline of 4:30 p.m. on May 19, a total of 166 candidates had filed to run for 116 various city government, port, school, fire, cemetery, hospital and water-sewer district positions throughout the county. 

While the filing deadline has passed, deadline to withdraw a candidacy declaration is May 22 at 4:30 p.m., so it should be noted these races are still subject to change. 

Races with three or more candidates will be trimmed down to two in the August primary while candidates in races with one or two candidates automatically move on to the general election in November.

In Centralia, Mayor Kelly Smith Johnston has filed to retain her current city council position 2 at-large, and will face opposition from candidates Joyce Barnes, Anthony Ahrens and Leah Daarud. Daarud abruptly resigned from Centralia City Council position at-large 3 last month as reported by The Chronicle. 

Her previous position has been filled by Adrianna Garibay, who was chosen by the council to replace Daarud earlier this month and has filed to run to keep the position. Garibay will face opposition from Kylie Sexsmith. 

Centralia City Council position 1 at-large also has three candidates competing for it in Steven Hubbard, Chris Brewer and Russell Barr. 

For the Port of Centralia, district 3 commissioner Peter Lahmann has filed to run to retain his position, and will face opposition from longtime Lewis County assessor Dianne Dorey. 

In Chehalis, Mayor Tony Ketchum and city council members Kevin Carns, Jerry Lord and Daryl Lund have all filed to retain their respective city council positions and are running unopposed. 

Candidates Karen Laufenberg and Jody Kyes are running against each other for Chehalis City Council district 4 following council member Isaac Pope’s announcement last month he is not seeking re-election. 

In Morton, Mayor Dan Mortensen is running to retain his position and facing opposition from candidate Ricky Mead. Three Morton City Council positions will be on the ballot as well, and none of the incumbent councilors have filed to retain their seats. 

This has led to a three-way race for Morton City Council position 1 between candidates Jason Sawyer, Dennis Morningstar and Aubrey Grantham. Bob Boyer and Wendy McCully are both running unopposed for positions 2 and 4, respectively. 

In Mossyrock, Mayor Randall Sasser is running unopposed to retain his position as are Mossyrock City Council members Beatrice Minnear, Shannon Mcarron, Juliana Simon and Teresa Quinlan. 

In Napavine, Mayor Shawn O’Neill is running to retain his position unopposed as are Napavine City Council members Ivan Wiediger, Don Webster and Duane Crouse. 

In Pe Ell, Mayor Lonnie Willey is running to retain his position as are Pe Ell City Council members Jilona Speer, Kristi Milanowski and Christopher Dodd. 

In Toledo, Mayor Steve Dobosh has taken a step back from his role in recent months due to health complications, and candidates Jake Morgan and Cherie DeVore have both filed to become the town’s new mayor. Candidates Rebecca Duerst and Kathy Hill have filed to run for Toledo City Council positions 3 and 4, respectively, while candidates Gary Reboin and Jamie Scalise have both filed to run for position 5. 



In Vader, Mayor Joe Schey is running unopposed for re-election while incumbent city council member Mike Parsons will face opposition from candidate Bob Goff to retain his position as will incumbent council member Michael Ferguson from candidate Janet Charlton. 

In Winlock, city council member Marty Poirrier is running unopposed to retain his positions while candidate Roland Camps is running unopposed for council position 2. City council member Eric Contreras has filed to run to retain his seat, position 3, but is facing opposition from candidates Shelly Allen and Jodie Curtis. 

As for races in area school districts, current Chehalis School Board member J. Vander Stoep will face opposition for the district 5 at-large seat from Anthony Mixer, Julie Balmelli-Powe and Matt Fagerness. A ballot measure in 2021 changed two district director seats to two at-large positions, increasing the pool of potential candidates.

In the Centralia School District, candidates Mandi McDougall and Sarah Holmes have both filed for director position 4. 

Several other school board races are taking shape on the outskirts of Lewis County, where districts overlap with Pierce, Thurston and Cowlitz counties. 

In the Rochester School District, candidates Michael Morrow and James Niel Turner are filed for director district 4, while candidates Penelope Mena and Susie Hawes are set to vie for the district 3 seat while candidates Grant Rodeheaver and Wava Garza will face off for the district 2 seat.

For the Castle Rock School District, Gary Stoner, Tracy Morgan and Levi Godinho have filed to run for district 4 at-large while Angelica Velazquez and Todd Jansen have both filed to run for district 5 at-large. 

In the Eatonville School District, Travis Rush and James Waldron are running against each other for director district 3 while a three-way race has formed for director at-large position 4 among candidates Corey Ackerman, Karen Carr and Kim Williams. 

Meanwhile, Monique Norberg and Adam Hutchinson Sr. have both filed to run for director district 2 in the Toledo School District.

Candidates Victoria House and Pat Saldana have both filed to run for Morton School District director at-large position 4 and in the Napavine School District candidates Brandon Barnes and Henry “Sonny” Butler will be running against each other for director district 1. 

The Onalaska School District will see its board chair Tanya Naillon run to retain her seat, position 1, against candidate Stuart Knight. 

The Toledo School District has a three-way race set up between Monique Norberg, Heather Garman and Adam Hutchinson Sr. for director district 2. 

Finally, the Winlock School District has two races that have developed between candidates Ryan Gaylor and Thadeus Nelson for director district 1 and between Joel Morlin and Janette Cade for director district 4. 

To view all other candidates who have filed throughout Lewis County, visit https://voter.votewa.gov/CandidateList.aspx?e=882&c=21. This story will be updated Monday evening following the candidate withdrawal deadline.