Nov. 2 all-mail general election underway
MEDICAL LAKE – The Nov. 2 all-mail general election is underway with voters having to decide a number of important races in the coming days.
One of the most important is the faceoff between incumbent Medical Lake Mayor Shirley Maike and challenger Terri K. Cooper.
Maike, a longtime Eastern State Hospital employee, has a political career dating back to 1997 when she was first appointed to the City Council.
Cooper, a political newcomer, said its time for a change and a renewed focus on making the city safer.
Cooper believes it’s time for the city to once again have its own police department.
Meanwhile, Maike advocates for continuing to contract with the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office for law enforcement services.
The city had its own police department prior to 2009.
Medical Lake also has contested races for City Council Position Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
Donald Kennedy and Howard Griffith are facing off for the Position No. 1 seat and Elizabeth Rosenbeck and Dawn Olmnstead for the Position No. 2 seat.
In the race for City Council seat No. 3, Bob Maxwell is running against Arthur “A.J.” Burton.
In Cheney, there are contested races for the City Council and School Board.
City Council Position No. 3, Jacquelyn Belock is running against Mark Posthuma.
The Cheney School Board also has contested races, with Mark L. Scott facing Marcie Estrellado for Director Position No. 1 and Zachary Zorrozua and Suzanne G. Dolle competing for the Director No. 2 seat.
St. John also has a contested School Board race, with Robert Taylor and Micah Armstrong Lupo running against each other for the Position No. 5 At-Large seat.
Unopposed
Several West Plains candidates are also unopposed, including Sonny Weathers,, Arthur Bubb, David Malet and Davin Perry, all seeking Airway Heights city offices.
Chris Grover, Teresa Overhauser and Paul Schmidt are unopposed in their bids for Cheney offices.
In Medical Lake, Tony Harbolt and Chad Pritchard are unopposed in their race for city offices. And Leo Spilker and Wendy Williams-Gilbert are running unopposed for School Board seats.
In nearby Spangle, Ron Cockle, Rebecca Johnson, June Brumley and Austin J. Sievers are all seeking city leadership offices without opposition.
Spangle also has uncontested races for the Liberty School Board, with Stephanie Stout, Chad Denny, R. Chad Cornmesser and Jeremy Engle all seeking office.
Further south, Frank G. Lazcano Sr., Heather Smith and Simon Butterfield are all running unopposed for the Rosalia School Board seats.
And in St. John, John Hergert and Melissa Edminster are running unopposed for seats on the School Board there.
Ballot deadline
Voters have until 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 2, to return ballots. They can be mailed to the Spokane County Elections office or dropped off there at 1033 W. Gardner Ave., Spokane.
Mailed ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday, Nov. 2.
There are also drop boxes around the West Plains region including Airway Heights Library, 1213 S. Lundstrom St.; Cheney Library, 610 First St.; and Medical Lake Library, 321 E. Herb St.
Several small towns in the southeast part of the county also have drop boxes, including:
Fairfield — Fairfield Branch Library, 305 E. Main St.
Latah — Town Hall, 108 Market St.
Spangle — Town Hall, 115 W. Second St.
Waverly — Town Hall, 225 N. Commercial St.
Roger Harnack is the owner/publisher of Free Press Publishing. Having grown up Benton City, Roger is an award-winning journalist, columnist, photographer, editor and publisher. He's one of only two editorial/commentary writers from Washington state to ever receive the international Golden Quill. Roger is dedicated to the preservation of local media, and the voice it retains for Eastern Washington.
Reader Comments(0)