A third candidate entering the race for a Whidbey General Hospital commissioner seat means it’s headed to the primary election Aug. 4.

Rita Drum, a rural Oak Harbor resident, became the third person to file for position 2 on the hospital’s board of commissioners.

She will go up against incumbent Georgia Gardner and hospital blogger Rob Born in the primary, which will narrow the candidates to the two top.

Drum came to Whidbey a year ago after retiring from an East Coast career in the medical field.

She was a pathology assistant and a histotechnologist at a hospital; she said the job required her to interact with just about all the departments, so she has a good understanding of how hospitals work.

She became interested in running for the position after hearing so many people “speak ill” of Whidbey General.

“We need to work to repair the reputation of the hospital,” she said, “and I can definitely help.”