VOTER INTERESTS PROJECT: Candidate Watch – Island County (April 2022)

Island County voters will elect a Commissioner in District 3 (North Whidbey and Camano Island), and all of the executive offices: Assessor, Auditor, Clerk, Coroner, Prosecutor, Sheriff, and Treasurer.

PREVIOUS UPDATES: Feb. 15, 2022

Island County Commissioner Janet St. Clair’s (D-Camano Island) seat is on the ballot this year, and thus far she has drawn two opponents. Tim Hazelo (R-Oak Harbor), who challenged Congressman Rick Larsen in 2020 and is now the chairman of the Island County Republican Party, filed with the Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) last spring. Former Commissioner Rick Hannold (R-Oak Harbor), who lost to St. Clair in 2018, filed in December. Filing with the PDC allows the candidate to begin fundraising; candidates will still have to file with the Island County Auditor during Filing Week, May 16-20, 2022.

Generally, candidates are required to report campaign contributions, including in-kind contributions, within five business days of receipt. Expenditures must be reported on a monthly basis. Contributions, except from political party committees, are limited to $1,000 per election. Thus, an individual or organization may contribute $2,000 each election cycle: $1,000 for the primary, and $1,000 for the general election.

However, candidates may elect to do “mini-reporting,” which has reduced reporting requirements, but strictly limits the amount of money they may raise and spend. We include information about mini-reporting after the candidate details below.

Commissioner

Janet St. Clair (incumbent), Democrat from Camano Island, filed on May 11, 2019. Mrs. St. Clair started with $17,577.89 left over from her 2018 campaign, and has raised $23,482.02 (up $9,583 from Feb.) since filing, bringing her total contributions to $41,059.91. She has spent $10,716.85 (up $2,036.34). She has reported no loans and no debt. (See Mrs. St. Clair’s PDC filings.)

Tim Hazelo, Republican from Oak Harbor, filed on May 28, 2021. Mr. Hazelo has raised $11,038.61 (up $8,957.76). His campaign had not reported any expenditures at our last update; they have since spent $5,045.44. He has reported no loans and no debt. (See Mr. Hazelo’s PDC filings.)

Rick Hannold, Republican from Oak Harbor, filed on December 13, 2021. Mr. Hannold has raised $6,993.70 (up $1,585.51) and lent his campaign $200.00 (unchanged), for a total of $8,779.21. He has spent $1,736.22 (up $1,221.43). Mr. Hannold reports no debts. (See Mr. Hannold’s PDC filings.)

Auditor

Richard MacQuarrie, Republican from Camano Island, filed on June 7, 2021. Mr. MacQuarrie raised $1,275.00, and has loans of $270.43 for a total of $1,545.43. He has spent $170.43 and has reported no debt. Mr. MacQuarrie has subsequently filed to run for Treasurer as well (see below) and but has not notified the PDC that he has ended this campaign. (See Mr. MacQuarrie’s PDC filings for his auditor campaign.)

Auditor Sheilah Crider (R) has not filed, but is expected to run for re-election.

UPDATE (Apr. 23, 2022): Mr. MacQuarrie reached out to us to indicate that he had communicated with the PDC about discontinuing his campaign for Auditor.

Assessor

No candidates have filed for Assessor as of Apr. 20, 2022. Bernie Upchurch (R) was appointed last year to fill the vacancy left when Mary Engle accepted the position of Planning Director for Island County. He was subsequently elected to the balance of the term in Nov. 2021, and is expected to run for re-election this year.

Clerk

Debra Van Pelt (incumbent), Democrat from Oak Harbor, filed on Apr. 5, 2022. Mrs. Van Pelt elected mini-reporting.

Coroner

No candidates have filed for Coroner as of Apr. 20, 2022. Robert Bishop, the long-time incumbent, is expected to file for re-election.

Prosecuting Attorney

Greg Banks (incumbent), Independent* from Freeland, filed on Mar. 14, 2022. Mr. Banks has not reported any contributions or expenditures. (See Mr. Banks’ PDC filings.)

* Mr. Banks had run as a Democrat in previous elections.

Sheriff

Rick Felici (incumbent), Republican from Coupeville, filed on Jan. 16, 2022. Mr. Felici started with $1,906.76 from his 2018 campaign. He reports no contributions, loans, expenditures, or debts to date. (See Mr. Felici’s PDC filings.)

Tim Davison, Republican from Oak Harbor, filed on Mar. 31, 2022. Mr. Davison chose mini-reporting; however, he notified the PDC that he was discontinuing his campaign on Apr. 15, 2022. (See Mr. Davison’s PDC filings.)

Treasurer

Tony Lam, Democrat from Oak Harbor, filed on Feb. 9, 2022. Mr. Lam chose mini-reporting. (See Mr. Lam’s PDC filings.)

Richard MacQuarrie, Republican from Camano Island, filed on Oct. 4, 2021. Mr. MacQuarrie reported a starting campaign balance of $60.52, has raised $7,949.92, and reports loans totaling $420.43, for a total of $8,430.87 in contributions. He reports expenditures of $6,619.72, with no debt. (See Mr. MacQuarrie’s PDC filings for his treasurer campaign.)

Incumbent Wanda Grone (R) has indicated that she will not be running for re-election.