Filing this week for 2017 election candidates

Candidates have begun formally entering races for local and countywide offices in this year’s election.

The start of the five-day filing period for candidates started Monday with mostly incumbents submitting their names. That included all four Town of Eatonville officeholders.

The deadlines are on May 19 at 4 p.m. for filing online at piercecountyelections.org, and on the same date at 4:30 p.m. for in-person filing at the county's Election Center, located at 2501 S. 35th St. in Tacoma.

Countywide, a combined 204 offices are on the ballot this year. They range from municipal and Port of Tacoma positions to school boards and fire districts. Twenty-two positions will be on the ballot for voters in the south Pierce County area. Those offices and current officeholders include port commissioner, Eatonville’s mayor and council, the Bethel and Eatonville school boards, fire district commissioner (South Pierce Fire and Rescue, Graham Fire and Rescue, and Ashford Fire District 23), and water commissioner (Ashford, Clear Lake, Elbe and Kapowsin water districts).

In Eatonville, Mayor Mike Schaub and Town Council members Jennifer Hannah, Bob Walter and William Dunn were among candidates who filed Monday.

Warren Smith filed for re-election to the Bethel School Board.

In races for Tacoma Port Commissioner, John McCarthy, Jim Jensen and Eric Holdeman filed for the Position 1 seat that longtime incumbent Connie Bacon is giving up. Incumbents Dick Marzano and Don Meyer filed for Positions 2 and 4, respectively.

Graham Fire Commissioner Gerry Gustafson filed and drew an opponent in Jacob Koukel for Position 1. Commissioner Gina Blanchard-Reed entered for Position 4, the seat she was appointed to after it was created last year when voters expanded the board from three members to five.