By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch Pierce County's prosecuting attorney and auditor won't change in this fall's election, but voters will have some choices to make for the Legislature and Congress. During the candidate filiing period May 12-16, incumbents Mark Lindquist and Julie Anderson were the only ones who filed for prosecuting attorney and auditor, respectively. They'll run unopposed unless write-in candidates surface. Even if that happens, write-ins generally aren't strong candidacies, so Lindquist and Anderson are virtually assured of new terms in office. Two County Council incumbents, Dan Roach and Rick Talbert, also have no opposition. Councilman Stan Flemming, however, is opposed by Derek Young. Races for District Court and Superior Court in the county drew only one candidate apiece. In the 8th Congressional District. U.S. Rep. Dave Reichert, first elected in 2005, is seeking a fifth two-year term. The Republican will have two challengers. Jason Ritchie and Keith Arnold are both running as Democrats. Ritchie has the endorsement of Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat who is part of Washington's congressional delegation. Ritchie also has the backing of labor organizations, including Washington State Labor Council, Washington State Council of County and City Employees, United Food Workers and International Aerospace Machinists Local 751. The Second District's state representatives, Republicans J.T. Wilcox and Graham Hunt, have opposition in their bids to stay in office. Wilcox, who is nearing the end of hsi second two-year term, will face Rick Payne of Graham, who lists his political affiliation as the Marijuana Party and is a former candidate for Bethel School Board. Steven Nielson, an Orting resident, is running under the LIbertarian Party banner. Hunt, who was appointed in January to the House of Representatives, has a challenge from Greg Hartman, a Democrat. Hartman ran in 2012 for the House and lost. Part of the legislative and congressional districts is in the south Pierce County area. The primary election will be on Aug. 5, followed by the general election Nov. 4.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment