The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

WALLA WALLA COUNTY—The Walla Walla County Elections Filing Week closed May 21. Candidates filing for positions within the City of Waitsburg filed through the County for the first time, after council members voted to move away from a city-ran election system in 2020.

The vote to move away from the city-ran election sets the city up to have all future elections run by the State of Washington, in accordance with RCW 35.30.080. After this year, city elections will be run like all other cities in the state.

Unlike city-ran elections in the past, candidates now have to file for specific positions. Any position that has three or more candidates will appear in the Primary Election and the top two will advance to the General. If two or fewer candidates file for a position, it will skip the Primary and go straight to the General.

In years past, City Council candidates were determined in a sweeping race, with all council members running against each other for a position. The current election format has candidates running against each other for specific seats.

The Mayor position will be a four-year term while the Council Position terms will be determined by the election results. Two candidates filed for Mayor of Waitsburg this year. The top three candidates in the General Election will serve four-year terms and the other two positions will serve two-year terms, after which they will go on the four-year cycle.

A complete list for Waitsburg City Council, Mayor, Park and Recreation District, Waitsburg School Board, and Fire Protection District, as well as Prescott School District, Park and Recreation, and all Columbia County, City of Dayton, and Dayton School Board candidates and the position the filed for can be found below. For complete Walla Walla County Elections information, visit https://tinyurl.com/592bnpat

To view the complete candidate list for all Washington counties, visit https://tinyurl.com/pmp4r63n