Primary ballots go out to Cowlitz voters today

Ballot is short but features crowded contests for three Longview City Council seats; most Cowlitz voters will not get ballots

Primary election ballots get mailed out to Cowlitz County voters today, but fewer than half the county’s 77,000 registered voters will get them.

Races for elective offices appear on the primary ballot only if three or more contestants are involved.

Three Longview City Council seats and one Kelso Council seats are the only offices in the county that have three contenders. The primary will decide which two candidates in those races move on to the November General Election.

Kelso’s sole primary election contest features a three-way race in which Jackie Collins and Sean Legry and trying to unseat City Council incumbent Kimberly Lefebvre.

The primary ballot also includes a levy lid lift for the Fort Vancouver Library District, which serves parts of the south county. It is seeking to increase the district’s property tax levy to $0.50 per $1,000 of assessed value for collection in 2026, or $150 annually on a $300,000 home.

All this means that only 35,185 Cowlitz voters will receive primary ballots, because nothing is at stake in much of the county.

Ballots must be mailed back by Aug. 5 to be valid and can be turned in at ballot drop box locations throughout the county.

I posed five questions to all nine Longview council candidates. Their answers — edited only for clarity and brevity — will publish Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday next week.

Much is at stake in Longview in this election cycle, although the primary alone will not decide it all.

Longview voters this year will decide whether the council remains in the control of the conservative MAGA majority. Councilman Spencer Boudreau is facing two challengers — longtime union leader Wayne Nichols and Longview businesswoman Marianne Chambers — for council position 7.

Boudreau has served as mayor for the last two years, but he is not running for mayor and voters do not get to choose the mayor. Longview’s mayor is elected by the council from among its members every two years. Some of Boudreau’s campaign signs identify him as mayor, but the new council could elect someone else when it convenes in January.

Boudreau is aligned with council members Kalei LaFave, Keith Young and Erik Halvorson in the majority coalition. Boudreau is the only one of the four up for election this year.

Two other Longview contests feature three-way races to replace councilwomen MaryAlice Wallis and Angie Wean, who are stepping down after serving two and one four-year terms, respectively.

Retired attorney Mike Claxton, retired doctor and medical administrator P.J. Peterson and union mill worker Nic Aguirre are seeking Wean’s position 5 seat.

Teacher Oliver Black, investment advisor Chris Bryant and marketer Josh Carter are seeking position 6, now held by Wallis.

The crowded field of candidates is not surprising given the amount of conflict that has marked council business during the last two years. It began with the firing without cause of City Manager Kris Swanson and continued with a still-simmering attempt to defluoridate Longview drinking water and the ongoing conflict over how to address homelessess.

Longview is facing a major financial crunch, a clear need to expand its tax base and a huge maintenance backlog in its parks and utility systems.

Given the stakes and history here, one might expect a strong turnout. However, off-year primaries like this one typically get limp voter participation. Since 2015, odd-year primary election turnout in Cowlitz County has averaged 23.18%.

Cowlitz County Auditor Carolyn Fundingsland, who is the county’s elections chief, said she expects a low turnout despite the number of contested races in Longview.

“I am not seeking an uptick in voter registrations that we typically see before an election, and I’m not seeing a lot of real active local campaigning. My personal prediction is that turnout will be very low,” Fundingsland said.

Low turnout makes it critical for candidates to identify reliable voters, because even a small pocket of ballots can swing the outcome, especially in a three-way race. Poor turnout also makes it difficult to assess the real will of the electorate.

Please, remember: Elections matter. Vote.