While several countywide elected positions remain uncontested as candidate filing week continues, three local legislators will face opponents in the upcoming November election.
Rep. Steve Tharinger, D-Sequim, is the latest to draw a challenger, with Thomas Greisamer of Moclips filing Wednesday morning. Greisamer filed as a Republican. Tharinger was elected to the Legislature in 2010, and is a former Clallam County commissioner and small business owner.
State Rep. Dean Takko, D-Longview, is being challenged by Libertarian David A. Steenson of Longview, who filed Tuesday.
Steenson said on his website that he decided to become a candidate “to reignite Constitutional fervor with ‘We The People,’ get government out of our personal lives; give the responsibility back to the individual, allowing so, builds strong families and businesses, so they can grow without overbearing regulations and taxes.”
Steenson said he’s a veteran, having served in the military from 1979 through 2012.
Takko, the retired Cowlitz County assessor, has been a state representative since 2004. He now serves as chairman of the Local Government Committee in the House. He’s a hunting and fishing advocate, having traveled all over the world on hunting vacations.
Rep. Brian Blake, D-Aberdeen, also received a challenger, with retired communications specialist Hugh Fleet of South Bend filing to run against him as a Republican.
Sequim Rep. Kevin Van De Wege has filed for re-election, but hasn’t yet drawn an opponent.
Congressman Derek Kilmer will face a familiar challenger in the upcoming election, with Gig Harbor-based real estate agent Marty McClendon, a Republican, also filing to run for the 6th Congressional District seat. Kilmer and McClendon ran against one another in 2010 in a race for a state Senate seat — a race Kilmer won.
The Democrat, who is completing his first term in the House of Representatives will also face a Port Angeles man who filed under the name W. (Greybeard) McPherson and stated no party preference.
Kilmer and McPherson both filed Monday morning, while McClendon filed Wednesday afternoon.
The prosecutor race will see both Chief Criminal Deputy Prosecutor Katie Svoboda and former prosecutor and judge Mike Spencer face off. Both candidates filed as Democrats — Svoboda on Monday and Spencer on Tuesday.
Spencer had been considering filing using a different party allegiance in the face of controversy involving the Grays Harbor Democrats snubbing him when he sought the appointment to the prosecutor position.
Filing week continues until 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Grays Harbor County Auditor’s Office.
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