Last-hour candidate filings send all three Longview council races to August primary

One Kelso City Council incumbent unopposed; port commissioners unchallenged

A flurry of late candidate filings — including one at the last possible minute Friday afternoon — will make all three races for Longview City Council seats subject to the Aug. 5 primary election.

Only one of three Kelso City Council races will appear in the “top 2 primary,” and one incumbent city councilman will skate to re-election because no one challenged him.

Here’s how the Longview City Council races a shape up after after the close of filing week at 5 p.m. Friday:

Council position 5: Attorney Mike Claxton and retired doctor P.J. Peterson had filed earlier in the week and were joined late Friday by Claire Pang and Nic Aguirre. Aguirre is the husband of Rayleen Aguirre, who is a friend and ally of Councilman/Mayor Spencer Boudreau. She had been trying to recruit conservative candidates all week, and her husband entered the race as filing week ticked to a close at 5 p.m. Pang is a technical writer who has served on the city’s library and parks advisory committees.

The position 5 incumbent is MaryAlice Wallis, who is stepping down when her second four-year term ends in December.

Council position 6: This race will feature teacher Oliver Black, investment advisor Chris Bryant and digital marketer Josh Carter. Carter previously filed for position 5 but switched to position 6 on Friday.

The position 6 incumbent is Angie Wean, who ends her first and only 4-year council term in December.

Position 7: Retired union leader Wayne Nichols and Longview real estate agent Marianne Chambers are challenging incumbent Councilman Spencer Boudreau, who also serves as mayor. Chambers, a lifelong Longview resident, filed at 4:50 p.m. Friday.

The seats of Longview council members Keith Young, Kalei LaFave, Erik Halvorson and Ruth Kendall are not up for re-election until 2027.

In Kelso, no one filed to oppose Position 2 incumbent Mike Karnofski, who skates to a new four-year term. Council position 3 has three contestants, with Jackie Collins and Sean Legry challenging incumbent Kim Lefebvre. The primary will decide which two move on to the November General Election.

In the race for Kelso council position 1, Eric McCrandall is challenging incumbent Brian Wood. With only two candidates, that race will not be on the primary ballot and will be decided in November.

Perhaps surprisingly — given controversies involved at both ports — no one challenged incumbent Port of Longview Commissioner Alan Erickson or incumbent Port of Woodland Commissioner Bob Wile.

The Port of Longview commissioners angered trade unions earlier this year by hiring non-union contractor Rotschy Inc. for a giant rail project despite the company’s extensive record of child labor and safety violations.

Faced with widespread public opposition, the Port Woodland recently abandoned an ambitious tax plan to build public infrastructure to help attract businesses to the Woodland Bottoms.

Only one candidate — Patrick Canfield — filed for a Port of Woodland seat that opened up with the April 23 death of commissioner Paul Cline. Without opposition, Canfield gets to fill the unexpired portion of Cline’s term.

Port of Kalama commissioner Patrick Harbison also was unopposed.

However, filing week resulted in contested races for:

• Kalama Mayor and two Kalama City Council seats.

• Three Woodland City Council seats (though Jason Friend was unchallenged for council position 7, now held by Monte Smith.)

• One Longview School board seat; one Kelso School Board position; one Toutle Lake School Board slot; and one Woodland School Board seat.

• One commissioner position for Cowlitz 2 Fire & Rescue and one commissioner position Cowlitz Fire District 6.
  
  In all, 84 candidates filed for 58 elective offices to local city councils, school boards, and port, fire, cemetery, sewer and other “junior” taxing districts.
  
  The full list of candidate filings can be found at voter.votewa.gov/CandidateList.aspx?e=893&c=08.