Winlock City Councilor Jeramy Allman to remain in seat while Lewis County commissioners search for replacement
At the beginning of this week, the Lewis County Board of County Commissioners announced they were looking for volunteers to fill a vacancy on the Winlock City Council, which as of its last meeting in June had no vacancies.
Currently, it still doesn't, although Winlock City Councilor Jeramy Allman's time may soon be coming to an end.
No information was given in the county news release as to which council seat was vacant or why, and volunteers were simply asked to apply to fill "the at-large city council position."
Initially, The Chronicle reported that Allman had been removed from his position as the Lewis County Prosecutor's Office deemed him ineligible to hold the office after talking to Winlock Mayor Victoria Marincin, as he lost his re-election bid to Thomas Robinson during the 2025 general election.
However, Robinson himself was ineligible to serve in the seat as he had not been living within Winlock city limits for at least a year.
Allman, along with the other councilors who won their elections, were sworn back in to start the new year. Marincin explained as of her own first day in office on Jan. 1, she instead should've initiated the 90-day process to find a replacement for Allman.
Per state law, if no appointment is made within that first 90-day period, the responsibility to find a new councilor is given to the county commissioners, who also have 90 days, a process in which they are undergoing now.
The Chronicle spoke to Lewis County Prosecutor's Office Chief Civil Deputy David Bailey on Friday, July 10, who clarified that while the county commissioners are indeed looking for a replacement for Allman, Allman has not yet been legally removed from the seat he currently holds.
Once the Lewis County commissioners do complete their process, and if they do find a qualified candidate to appoint, Allman will be removed and replaced.
In a statement previously given to The Chronicle earlier this week, Allman contested whether or not the county even still had the authority to replace him, as per state law if the county goes over the 90-day time limit, it then becomes a matter for the governor to intervene in.
"More than 180 days has passed since Jan. 1. The county has no legal authority to appoint a person to the council. But, before it can be determined whether a vacancy even occurred by the challenger not taking office on Jan. 1, it has to be determined whether the election was even valid," Allman said previously.
According to state law, specifically RCW 29A.36.180, votes cast for a disqualified candidate in a general election simply "shall not be counted for that office." The statute further states, "if the disqualified candidate is the only candidate to have filed for the office during a regular or special filing period for the office, a void in candidacy for the office exists."
Robinson, however, was not the only candidate. In the end, the vote count between Robinson and Allman was 280 to 179, meaning the 179 votes for Allman should technically still be valid.
Despite Allman's arguments, the Lewis County commissioners are still moving forward with their own appointment process. According to their news release, the deadline for eligible Winlock residents interested in serving on the city council is July 23. Once that deadline is passed, the county commissioners will review their applications and begin their interview process to select an appointee.
Allman has also filed a voter election process law review lawsuit against Robinson. That lawsuit is still active within the Lewis County Superior Court system.
For more information, read The Chronicle's previous coverage at https://tinyurl.com/5enmn54w.
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published July 11, 2026 at 11:21 AM.