Election season opens in Kitsap with filing week for 2025 primary candidates
Candidates for the two highest city offices up for election in 2025 have already made announcements. In Bremerton, incumbent Mayor Greg Wheeler and challenger Jeff Coughlin, currently a city councilmember on an expiring term, have each publicly announced an intention to run. In Poulsbo, where current Mayor Becky Erickson is retiring after 14 years leading the city, 25-year veteran councilman Ed Stern and longtime civic booster Dan Weedin have both launched campaigns.
The one state legislative seat that voters will see, as well as the only partisan race on the ballot for 2025, also has two announced candidates. In the 26th District, stretching from Bremerton to Gig Harbor, current Sen. Deb Krishnadasan, a Democrat, was appointed to the position last December to replace Emily Randall, who is now the Sixth District representative in Congress. She intends to run for election to retain the position, and current 26th District Rep. Michelle Caldier, a Republican, has announced her run to move over to the Senate. Candidates for the 26th District position must file with the Washington State Secretary of State's office.
In total 14 city council positions will be open across Bremerton, Port Orchard, Poulsbo and Bainbridge Island, 14 school board seats across the area's six districts, and 16 openings on various port commissions will be contested. Bremerton Municipal Court Judge Tracy Flood, currently suspended by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct, also is at the end of a four-year term, and there will be an election.
The primary is scheduled for August 5, and elections with only two candidates will advance directly to the general election on November 4.
Candidates interested in filing for public office must do so by Friday, May 9, with the Kitsap County Auditor's Office. Information on how to declare and pay filing fees is available at www.kitsap.gov/elections or by visiting the auditor's office at the county administration building, 619 Division Street, Port Orchard. Email auditor@kitsap.gov or call 360-307-8683 with questions.
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Kitsap's 2025 election candidates filing for primary next week
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