GOLD BAR — A seat on the Gold Bar City Council had no takers during candidate filing back in May.
Now two men — one who serves on the council and one who has before — are going to compete for the job in November.
City Councilman Kendall Wallace and former councilman Jay Prueher will duel for Position 4 after registering as candidates during a special sign-up period last week.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday Aug 20 the rest of the general election match-ups were set following the certification of results of the Aug. 6 primary.
Election officials reported turnout countywide was 24.3 percent with registered voters casting 115,165 ballots. That’s a bit better than the 23.9 percent participation rate recorded in the August 2017 primary.
In the Gold Bar council contest, Wallace, 46, is the incumbent. He won the seat in 2015 and said he intended to run again but missed his chance in May because he was out of the country.
He is a registered nurse. Wallace said if he secures a second term he wants to see an updating of the water system finished after years of debate.
He said he’s also concerned by the amount of logging in and around the city.
“The clear cutting around here is massive,” he said, adding he is worried it could deter tourists and undermine an important industry for the city’s economy.
Prueher, 74, won a seat on the City Council in 2007 and served one term.
He is a retired chief marine engineer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
If elected, he said he wants to deal with the negative effects of increasing congestion on U.S. 2, especially from weekend travelers.
“Traffic is getting worse,” he said. “People up here actually feel they are held hostage because they can’t use that road.”
Also, he wants to work to ensure builders of new developments in and around the city pay adequate fees to offset impacts of the construction on residents of Gold Bar.
Two other Gold Bar council seats are on the ballot this fall. In both cases, the current office-holders are unopposed.
Councilwoman Demi Phillips is seeking to retain her seat in Position 1. She was appointed to the post in February 2018 and is now running to complete the final two years of an unexpired term.
Councilman Jordan Sears is looking to continue serving in Position 5 to which he was appointed in March. He’ll earn a four-year term with a win in November.
The Snohomish County elections office conducted the special three-day filing period Aug. 12-14.
In addition to the city post, eligible candidates signed up for openings on a couple special districts.
Brian Moody took advantage to register for Position 5 on the East County Park & Recreation Commission.
Martin Inman and Dan Wedler, both of Snohomish, filed for Positions 1 and 2 respectively on the Fire District 16 commission. Both are commissioners for the district that serves the Lake Roesiger area, according to county election records.
Commissioner Dick Dinham signed up for another six-year term in Snohomish County Fire District 23 Position 1. That district serves the Robe Valley area along the Mountain Loop Highway.
Jerry Cornfield: 360-352-8623; jcornfield@herald net.com. Twitter: @dospueblos.
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