4 of 13 Cowlitz County races receive challengers in November election
Only four of the 13 major Cowlitz County races in November's election are contested, according to online candidate filing reports after the 5 p.m. Friday deadline.
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Nonpartisan races, including for judges, will head straight to the general election ballots in November.
Partisan races, including Cowlitz County commissioner and clerk, will appear on primary ballots, though races with two or fewer candidates will head to the general election ballots as well.
Contested races
First-term Cowlitz County Commissioner Rick Dahl, a Republican, faces Democrat Chelsea Chandler.
Chandler said she is a seventh and eighth grade teacher at Monticello Middle School in Longview and has lived in Cowlitz County since 2014.
Dahl, a retired vice president at Fibre Federal Credit Union, beat independent incumbent John Jabusch with about 53% of the vote in November 2022 after Jabusch was appointed to the seat by then-Washington State Gov. Jay Inslee when the remaining two commissioners could not reach an agreement to fill the empty seat.
Both Dahl and Chandler aim to represent District 3, which covers the northern, rural parts of the county, including Rose Valley, Castle Rock, Toutle and Ryderwood.
The position earns $118,730 a year.
Longtime Cowlitz County Clerk Staci Myklebust faces Ashley White.
Both candidates list their political party as independent in their filing records.
White said she has worked at the Cowlitz County clerk's office for five years, including two years as lead deputy clerk and now as administrative assistant for Cowlitz County Youth Services, which is juvenile court.
Myklebust's campaign Facebook page states she has served in the elected position for the past 12 years.
The clerk maintains Superior Court records, collects court fines and fees, manages juries and more. The position earns $118,730 a year.
Cowlitz County Senior Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jacob Lervold has filed against Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Jill Karmy.
Washington State Gov. Bob Ferguson appointed Karmy to the position after Cowlitz County Superior Court Judge Marilyn Haan announced she was stepping down due to health reasons.
The winner of the race would serve the remaining two years of the four-year term.
The nonpartisan position earns $237,460 a year.
Local prosecutors Christopher Eastwood and Nicole G. Knowles are vying for the District Court Judge Position 3.
Eastwood said he prosecutes for the cities of Kelso, Castle Rock, Kalama and Woodland.
Knowles' campaign website says she has served nine years as a county prosecutor. Currently, she is the lead prosecutor for the city of Longview, according to the site.
The district court judge's nonpartisan position earns $226,096 a year.
Incumbent John Hays did not file for the race.
Cowlitz County Superior Court handles cases like criminal felonies, and District Court handles cases like criminal misdemeanors.
Uncontested races
Major uncontested races include Cowlitz County sheriff, with longtime department leader Troy Brightbill as the only filed candidate.
Current sheriff Brad Thurman announced his retirement in February after nearly three decades in law enforcement.
Brightbill said he has served 27 years with the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office. For the last seven years, he said he's managed the office, while modernizing operations and increasing staff, according to his campaign kickoff email.
The position earns $146,962 a year.
County Assessor Emily Wilcox, Auditor Carolyn Fundingsland, Prosecuting Attorney Ryan Jurvakainen and Treasurer Debra Gardner are also running unopposed.
No one filed against these candidates in their last races in 2022 either.
Each of those positions earns $118,730 a year, except prosecuting attorney, which earns $213,690.
No one filed to compete against first-term Coroner Dana Tucker this year, either.
That position also earns $118,730 a year.
The remaining uncontested races are District Court Judge Position 1 with incumbent Kevin Blondin; District Court Judge Position 2 with incumbent M. Jamie Imboden; and Public Utility District Commissioner District 1 with incumbent Bruce Pollock.
The district court judge nonpartisan positions earn $226,096 a year, while the PUD commissioner, also a nonpartisan position, earns $38,856 a year.
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