UPDATED: Here’s who filed to run for Thurston County’s city councils and school boards

UPDATES: This story has been edited to include more races in Thurston County and to remove the names of people who filed for election then withdrew.

Thurston County candidate filing week ended Friday and it has produced some surprises, including a primary race for a Port of Olympia seat.

But perhaps the most surprising move: Lacey incumbent Michael Steadman has decided not to defend his own seat, but instead is challenging incumbent Carolyn Cox for hers. In Lacey, council seats do not represent geographic districts.

Three or more candidates in any race will square off in the August primary to narrow the field to two, while two or fewer will advance directly to the general election in November.

Two Port commissioners chose not to run for re-election: Amy Evans Harding and Maggie Sanders. Sanders was elected to the commission when it expanded to five districts.

Three have chosen to run for Evans Harding’s District No. 3 seat: Krag Unsoeld, the third of former U.S. Rep. Jolene Unsoeld’s four children; Anthony Hemstad, who serves on the port’s citizens advisory committee and previously applied to be the port’s executive director; and Rebecca Faust, a Republican precinct committee officer.

“The port is better than I found it, which is what the goal should be, right?” Evans Harding told The Olympian about her decision not to run. “I believe in taking a turn and then letting somebody else come in. I’m still at a stage where I gotta work, I gotta take care of my family, and I’m going to focus on that for right now, and maybe I’ll run again for something someday.”

Port incumbent Bob Iyall is running again for the District No. 2 seat, and being challenged by Jerry Toompas of Yelm. Toompas previously ran for Yelm City Council.

Joel Hansen is running unopposed for Sanders’ District No. 4 seat. Hansen chairs the port’s citizen advisory committee and he previously ran against Evans Harding before the commission expanded to five districts.

The big surprise in Lacey is that Steadman is running for Cox’s Position No. 7 seat. The Olympian was unable to reach him for an explanation, but he did announce his run for re-election on Facebook.

“I appreciate the support over the last 12 years and look forward to four more years helping our city thrive,” he wrote.

Cox said she was surprised by Steadman’s decision to run against her, but she acknowledged he has every right to do so.

“I’m running to continue the work I’ve done the past eight years,” she said. “I intend to run a positive campaign and to work to earn people’s votes.”

With Steadman running for Position No. 7, two people have filed for his current Position No. 6 seat: Evette Temple, past board president of the Lacey-based nonprofit housing provider Homes First, and Ryan Siu, who works for the Washington state Office of Public Defense.

Incumbent Robin Vazquez is not running for re-election. Three people initially filed to fill her Position No. 4 seat: Maren Turner, a gerontologist; Charles Beck, who is semi-retired but works as a professional auctioneer; and Artur Tarabichi, a recent graduate of Washington State University who works at the Thurston County Auditor’s Office. However, Tarabichi has since withdrawn his candidacy.

In Olympia, there will be three primary races, two against incumbents and one for the open seat being vacated by Jim Cooper.

In District 4, incumbent Clark Gilman has drawn opposition from two candidates, Michael A. Marstrom and Wendy Carlson. In District 6, incumbent Robert Vanderpool is being challenged by Justin Stang, Dana Tan and Darlene Simkins.

In the District 7 race for Cooper’s seat, former Democratic state party chairman Paul Berendt is running against David Wenzel and Caleb Gieger.

Yelm Community Schools can claim the most crowded race: Five people are vying for one of two school board seats up for election.

Here’s a list of all the candidates who filed to run for local election positions in Thurston County.

Port of Olympia Commission

District 2:

• Jerry Toompas
• Bob Iyall (incumbent)

District 3:

• Anthony Hemstad
• Rebecca Faust
• Krag Unsoeld

District 4:

• Joel Hansen

City of Olympia

Council District 4:

• Wendy Carlson
• Clark Gilman (incumbent)
• Michael A. Marstrom

Council District 5:

• Kelly Green (incumbent)

Council District 6:

• Justin Stang
• Robert Vanderpool (incumbent)
• Dana Tan
• Darlene Simkins

Council District 7:

• Paul Berendt
• David Wenzel
• Caleb Gieger

Municipal Court Judge, Position 1

• Pamella Nogueira (incumbent)

City of Lacey

District 4:

• Charles Beck
• Maren Turner
• 
  
  

District 5:

• Andy Ryder (incumbent, current Mayor)

District 6:

• Evette Temple
• Ryan Siu

District 7:

• Carolyn H. Cox (incumbent)
• Michael Ron Steadman (current District 6 incumbent)

City of Tumwater

Mayor:

• Leatta Dahlhoff
• Lance Brender

District 4:

• Eileen Swarthout (incumbent)

District 5:

• Rachelle Martin
• Meghan Sullivan

District 6:

• Peter Agabi (incumbent)

Town of Bucoda

Mayor:

• Callie Carpenter

District 1:

• Laura Wilson

City of Rainier

Mayor:

• Bob Shaw

District 1:

• Amy N. Baker

District 3:

• Tom Arnbrister
• Bill Koutrouba

District 5:

• Dennis C. McVey

City of Tenino

District 1:

• Linda Gotovac

District 3:

• Adam Carney

District 4:

• Tianne Curtiss

City of Yelm

Mayor:

• Joe DePinto (incumbent)
• Dustin Stephan
• JW Foster

District 3:

• Joshua Crossman
• Griselda Arias

District 4:

• Stephanie Kangiser

District 5:

• Brian G. Hess

District 6:

• Karl O. Sabaria
• Louise Oliverio
• Nicole Sims
• David Johnstone

District 7:

• Terry Kaminski

North Thurston Public Schools

District 2:

• Jeremy Ryan
• Tim Bullus

District 3:

• Sarah Tracy (incumbent)
• Loretta Byrnes

Olympia School District

District 3:

• Britney Johnson
• Rhyan Smith
• Renee Fullerton

District 5:

• Jeremy Ruse
• Gilbert Lamont
• Emily Leddige

Tumwater School District

District 1:

• Julie Watts
• Sarah Overbay
• Dean Mings

District 3:

• Ty Kuehl (incumbent)
• Daniel Mies
• Jeff (Cowboy) Curry

District 4:

• Melissa Determan Beard (incumbent)
• Aimee Staudt

District 5:

• Rob Warner
• Mike McGowan

Griffin School District

Position 4:

• Julie Osterberg

Position 5:

• Trish Gregory

Rainier School District

District 4:

• Edgar Ooms

District 5:

• Rebecca Stillings

Rochester School District

District 1:

• Francisco J. Villanueva

District 5:

• Heather Harris

Tenino School District

District 5:

• Chato Salisbury

Yelm Community Schools

District 1:

• Frank King (incumbent)
• Ray Duncan
• Angela Gardner

District 4:

• Terrie Hargreaves
• Debbie Edwards (incumbent)
• Ryan Jewell
• Debi Matthews
• Miranda Dries

This story was originally published May 9, 2025 at 8:58 PM.