Candidate filing period is just around the corner for a general election that has the potential to transform the leadership of municipal government on Whidbey Island.

For those who are considering running for a seat in local government, online candidate filing is available at islandcountywa.gov, beginning at 8 a.m. on May 5, 2025 and ending at 5 p.m. on May 9. The Island County Elections Office in Coupeville will be open for in-person filing during the same period.

Candidates may also submit Declarations of Candidacy via email to Elections@islandcountywa.gov.

Local agencies and districts are on the ballot every odd numbered year. The offices on the ballot this years include city councils, hospital districts, school districts, port districts, fire districts, park and recreation districts, cemetery districts, water districts and sewer districts.

All of the positions are non-partisan.

Specifically, four seats on the Oak Harbor City Council will be on the ballot. They are currently held by Bryan Stucky, Barbara Armes, Jim Woessner and James Marrow, who was appointed to the position earlier this year.

Stucky, Armes and Marrow all plan to run in November; Stucky and Marrow already filed with the Public Disclosure Commission. Woessner said he plans to step aside and let someone else take his seat.

In Langley, the seats held by Harolynne Bobis, Rhonda Salerno and Gail Fleming will be on the ballot. Fleming said she is not running again. Bobis and Salerno did not respond to email inquiries, but Bobis has indicated during past city council meetings that she does not intend to run again.

In Coupeville, the seats currently held by Michael Moore and Pat Powell will be on the ballot. Moore said he doesn’t plan to run again. Powell didn’t immediately respond to an inquiry.

A total of seven school board positions will be open for the three school districts on Whidbey Island.

On the Coupeville school board, Nancy Conard, Morgan White and Bryan Sherman all said they are planning to run in November.

In Oak Harbor, the positions held by school board members Nicole Tesch and Sharon Jensen will appear on the ballot. Jensen and Tesch said they both intend to run again.

In South Whidbey, Andrea Downs and Ann Johnson’s seats are up for reelection. They didn’t immediately respond to inquiries.

Two six-year positions on the WhidbeyHealth public hospital board will be on the ballot. Gregory Richardson said he and his wife plan to move to Portugal, so he isn’t running again. Ron Wallin didn’t respond to the question.

Three of the five positions on the North Whidbey Pool, Park and Recreation board will be on the ballot. The positions are currently held by Bill Larsen, Melissa Hartmann and David Guy, who were all appointed after elected members of the board resigned.

On the South Whidbey Parks and Recreation board, the positions held by Erik Jokinen, Jake Greve and Matthew Simms are up for reelection.

Two seats on the Port of Coupeville board will appear on the ballot. The seats are currently held by John Mishasek and Martin Vandepas. Curt Gordon’s six-year position on the Port of South Whidbey will be on the ballot.

In addition, two seats on the board of North Whidbey Fire and Rescue, one seat for Central Whidbey Island Fire and Rescue and one seat for South Whidbey Fire/EMS are up for reelection, as well as a number of cemetery, water and sewer district positions.