Candidate list for Spokane County, city elections finalized
The slate of candidates vying for local seats in this year’s primary election is set.
Candidates had until 4 p.m. Friday to file paperwork to appear on the Aug. 3 ballot.
The Spokane City Council will have three races, with each district having one of two seats open. Two of the three races have no incumbent running, as incumbent Kate Burke has said she won’t seek a second term and Councilwoman Candace Mumm has reached her term limit.
Candidates for Burke’s seat in northeast Spokane are former mayoral candidate Jonathan Bingle, Parkview Early Learning Center co-owner Luc Jasmin III and Naghmana Sherazi, who ran unsuccessfully for the district’s other seat in 2019.
For Mumm’s spot in the northwest district, five candidates met the filing deadline. They are: yoga teacher and consultant Lacrecia “Lu” Hill; Christopher Savage, who ran unsuccessfully for council in 2019; Karen Kearney, who chairs the Balboa-South Indian Trail Neighborhood Council; Michael Lish, owner of D.Lish’s Hamburgers; and Zack Zappone, a Democrat who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent State Rep. Mike Volz last year.
The only incumbent running is Betsy Wilkerson, who represents the South Hill and downtown Spokane. This would be her first full term, as she was appointed to the council last January to fill a vacant seat.
Only Tyler LeMasters, Realtor and former staffer for U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, is running against Wilkerson.
In Spokane Valley, Pam Haley, Rod Higgins, Linda Thompson and Ben Wick are hoping to win second four-year terms on the City Council. All had submitted their paperwork by the deadline.
Haley will face three competitors: Mary Butler-Stonewall, Wayne Fenton and Pat Stretch.
Retired housing and community development specialist Stretch also ran in 2019. Butler-Stonewall is a consultant at the Global Peace Advocacy and Empowerment Initiative, an advocacy organization that promotes peace worldwide.
Fenton is the co-owner of the Black Diamond. His son, Brandon, co-owns the restaurant and is also running for city council to unseat Wick. The Black Diamond gained attention in May 2020 and again in December for violating COVID-19 restrictions on restaurants.
Wick also faces a challenge from Mark McManus.
Higgins will face one competitor, James “JJ” Johnson. Johnson serves on the Spokane County Human Rights Task Force’s board of directors and previously sat on the Spokane Valley Planning Commission.
Thompson faces three competitors. Laura Padden, wife of longtime state Sen. Mike Padden, has worked for the last 15 years as a web developer for the Community Colleges of Spokane. Adam Smith is an owner of Destination Classrooms, which provides education experiences to students outside the classroom. Renault Patrick Evans is also running against Thompson.
Below are the candidates who filed to run for city and town offices in Spokane County.
Airway Heights
City Council
Position 1: Sonny Weathers
Position 2: Arthur Bubb
Position 4: David Malet
Position 6: Davin Perry
Cheney
Mayor: Chris Grover
City Council
Position 1: Paul Schmidt
Position 3: Justin Amyot, Tim Gainer, Mark Posthuma, Ryan Delaney, Jacquelyn Belock
Position 4: Teresa Overhauser
Deer Park
Mayor: Tim Verzal, Hazel McGillivray, Hargis Adams
City Council
Position 1: Mary J. Babb, Henry Lever, Jason Upchurch, Billy Costello
Position 3: Richard Schut, Heather Newsom, Mike Achurra
Fairfield
Mayor: Jamie L. Paden
Town Council
Position 1: Alisha Anderson
Position 2: Jacob R. Warren
Latah
Mayor: Carole Meissner, Brianne Howe
Town Council
Position 1: Yvonne Warren
Position 4: Curt Loucks
Liberty Lake
Mayor: Cris Kaminskas, Steve Peterson
City Council
Position 2: Chris Cargill
Position 4: Jamie Freeze Baird, Mike Behary
Position 6: Mike T. Kennedy
Position 7: Holly A. Woodruff
Medical Lake
Mayor: Shirley Maike, Terri K. Cooper
City Council
Position 1: Donald Kennedy, Howard Griffith
Position 2: Elizabeth Rosenbeck, Dawn Olmstead
Position 3: Arthur (AJ) Burton, Bob Maxwell
Position 4: Tony Harbolt
Position 7: Chad Pritchard
Millwood
Mayor: Matt Dean, Kevin M. Freeman
City Council
Position 1: Shawna Beese
Position 2: Dan Sander, Becky Dean
Rockford
Mayor: Carrie Roecks
Town Council
Position 1: Tim Fricke
Position 2: Brian Laude
Position 5: Mark Lonam Jr., Ivan Willmschen, Rachelle Arriaga
Spangle
Town Council
Position 1: Ron Cockle
Position 2: Rebecca Johnson
Position 5: Austin J Sievers
Spokane
Municipal Court
Judge No. 1: Kristin C. O’Sullivan
Judge No. 2: Mary C. Logan
Judge No. 3: Matthew Antush, Gloria Ochoa-Bruck
City Council
District 1 (Northeast): Jonathan Bingle, Luc Jasmin III, Naghmana Sherazi
District 2 (South): Tyler LeMasters, Betsy Wilkerson
District 3 (Northwest): Lacrecia (Lu) Hill, Christopher Savage, Karen M. Kearney, Mike Lish, Rob Jones, Zack Zappone
Spokane Valley
City Council
Position 1: Rod Higgins, James “JJ” Johnson
Position 4: Ben Wick, Brandon Fenton, Mark McManus, Christopher Ingraham
Position 5: Pamela Haley, Mary K Butler-Stonewall, Wayne J. Fenton, Pat Stretch
Position 7: Laura Padden, Adam Smith, Linda (Hatcher) Thompson, Renault Patrick Evans
Waverly
Mayor: Paul Curtis
Town Council
Position 1: Clifford Curtis
Position 2: Joel Martensen
Position 4: Alexander Fuchs
Below are the candidates who filed to run for fire, water, sewer and cemetery districts in Spokane County.
Spokane Valley Fire Commission
Position 3: Brian K. Asmus
Position 4: John Guarisco
Spokane County Fire District 3 Commission
Position 2: Bob Harris
Spokane County Fire District 4 Commission
Position 2: James Lahde
Spokane County Fire District 5 Commission
Position 2: Bonita M. Cobb
Spokane County Fire District 8 Commission
Position 2: Lee C. Boling
Spokane County Fire District 9 Commission
Position 2: Michael Atwood, Brian Mather
Spokane County Fire District 11 Commission
Position 2: Dave Trejbal
Spokane County Fire District 12 Commission
Position 2: Don Evans
Spokane County Fire District 13 Commission
Position 2: Dennis Gleckler, Teresa Phelps
Position 3: Ben Kaiser
Whitworth Water District Commission
Position 3: Leroy (Lee) Legnon, Stevan Veselinovic
Position 4: Marty Hare
Position 5: Chris Johnson
Spokane County Water District 3 Commission
Position 2: Nathan P. Jeffries, Bob Cunningham, Kevin McMulkin
Irvin Water District Commission
Position 3: Susan Darnell
Greenwood Cemetery District Commission
Position 2: Rodney L. Clouse
Moran Cemetery District Commission
Position 1: Kimberley Taylor
Elk Cemetery District Commission
Position 2: Billie I. Martin
Milan Cemetery District Commission
Position 2: Wendi Babcock
Editor’s note: Mary J. Babb and Henry Lever are among four candidates running for position 1 on the Deer Park City Council. Their names were missing in the original version of this article. Also, the original version of this story incorrectly stated the name of a task force, due to an error from a source. It is the Spokane County Human Rights Task Force. James “JJ” Johnson sits on the force’s board of directors.