See who is running for elected office in Snoqualmie, North Bend and Carnation

King County’s candidate filing window has come and gone, meaning election season is officially underway in the Snoqualmie Valley.

Candidates seeking office had until the end of last week to file and declare their candidacy for the upcoming 2023 General Election. City Council, school board and parks district races will all be on the ballot this fall.

With just over five months until the November election, here’s a list of who has filed to run for office.

Snoqualmie:

Council Pos. 2: Rob Wotton
Council Pos. 4: Louis Washington, Carson Maestas
Council Pos. 5: James Mayhew, Mandeep Walia, Tanya Lavoy, Catherine Cotton
Council Pos. 6: Cara Christensen

Overview:

Incumbent James Mayhew, who has been on council since 2017, will face three challengers in his bid for re-election. Two of those challengers: Tanya Lavoy, a legislative aide for State Sen. Patty Kuderer, and Catherine Cotton, a veterinarian and volunteer EMT with Snoqualmie Fire, have previously sought seats on the council.

Snoqualmie’s newest councilmember, Louis Washington will be challenged by Carson Maestas. Washington was appointed to his seat last March to fill a vacancy.

Current Councilmembers Rob Wotton and Cara Christensen will run unopposed. They joined the council via appointment in 2022 and 2021, respectively.

North Bend

Mayor: Rob McFarland, Mary Miller
Council Pos. 1: Christina Rustik, Errol Tremolada, Aaron Bard
Council Pos. 3: Heather Koellen
Council Pos. 5: Brenden Elwood, Jason Ritchey
Council Pos. 7: Suzan Torguson

Overview:

At the top of the ticket in North Bend, City Councilmember Mary Miller will challenge one-term incumbent Rob McFarland to be the town’s next mayor. McFarland became the city’s first new mayor in nearly two decades in 2020, just prior to the pandemic. Miller started on council in 2020.

On the city council side of things, North Bend voters will be introduced to several new faces. With Miller choosing to run for mayor, her pos. 7 on council has been left open for Suzan Torguson, who is running unopposed.

In the pos. 1 race, Councilmember Jonathan Rosen has not filed to retain his seat, leaving the door open for newcomers – Christina Rustik, Errol Tremolada and Aaron Bard

Brenden Elwood is the only incumbent who will face a challenger.

Meanwhile, Councilmember and Mayor Pro Tem Heather Koellen will run unopposed.

Carnation

Council Pos. 1: Adair Hawkins
Council Pos. 3: Tim Harris, Brodie Nelson
Council Pos. 4: Ryan Burrell, Max Voelker
Council Pos. 5: Dustin Green, Jessica Merizan

Overview:

It will be a busy election cycle in Carnation, with four of the five seats on the city council up for election. Only the pos. 2 seat, held by Mayor Jim Ribail, is not up for election.

Of the four seats on the ballot, three will be competitive. Only incumbent Adair Hawkins will run unopposed. Samantha Darnell had filed to challenge Hawkins, but withdrew her candidacy, according to King County Elections.

Meanwhile, incumbents Tim Harris, Ryan Burrell and Dustin Green will all face challengers.

Snoqualmie Valley School District:

Director Pos. 2: Linda Grez, Judith Milstein

Director Pos. 3: Rene Price

Director Pos. 5: Ram Dut Vedullapalli

Overview:

There will be some change over on the school board after this election. Board Vice President Geoff Doy has not filed to retain his pos. 2 seat. Carolyn Simpson will also not seek reelection to her pos. 3 seat.

Incumbent boardmember Ram Dutt Vedullapalli is running unopposed.

Riverview School District: