Election filing deadline looms

It's feast or famine week in local politics.

With Friday being the deadline for area mayoral and city council candidates to file to be listed on the Nov. 5 election ballot, several have stepped forward to challenge incumbents while no one has filed for some other openings.

The deadline to file as a write-in candidate for city elections is Oct. 8.

Here's a roundup of what seats are open and who had filed as of Wednesday:

COEUR d'ALENE - Positions up for election are the mayor's seat held by Sandi Bloem and city council seats No. 2 held by Mike Kennedy, No. 4 by Woody McEvers and No. 6 by Deanna Goodlander.

McEvers is seeking re-election, while the other three have said they won't.

Those who have filed for the mayor's seat are Steve Widmyer, Mary Souza and Joseph Kunka.

Candidates who have filed to challenge McEvers include Amber Copeland and Sharon Hebert.

Those who have filed for Kennedy's seat include Amy Evans and Jared Festner.

For Goodlander's seat, only Kiki Miller has filed.

POST FALLS - Kerri Thoreson and Ron Jacobson, two current city council members, have filed to run for mayor. Clay Larkin is not seeking re-election.

Jayson Cornwell has filed to challenge council Seat No. 4 holder Betty Ann Henderson.

Barry Rubin has filed to run for the No. 2 council seat currently held by Jacobson.

Linda Wilhelm has also filed, hoping to retain her No. 6 seat.

RATHDRUM - Mark Worthen, who holds the No. 1 seat, and Paula Laws, who holds No. 3, have both filed for re-election. No challengers have filed.

HAYDEN - Council seat No. 2 held by Dick Panabaker and No. 4 by Jeri DeLange are up for election.

Only Panabaker has filed so far.

SPIRIT LAKE - Positions held by Mayor Todd Clary and council members Jimmy Brown Jr. and Bill Erickson are up for grabs.

Clary has filed for re-election and will be challenged by Donald Barnett.

Zachary Neu and Autumn Massender have filed to run for city council.

DALTON GARDENS - Four-year council seats held by Joe Myers and Ron Koontz are up for election, but no one has filed.

ATHOL - Council seat No. 3 held by Mark Dane and No. 4 by Shane McDaniel are up for election, but no one has filed.

FERNAN VILLAGE - The council seats held by Mary Ann Tierney and Sue Myers are up for election.

Tierney has filed for re-election.

ST. MARIES - Positions up for election are those held by Mayor Tami Holdahl and council members Randall Saunders (two-year seat) and Jerry Wicks (four-year seat).

No one has filed for the mayor's seat.

Saunders and Wicks have filed for re-election. Others seeking the four-year seat include Judd Wilson, Randy Willard and Jerry McCarter.

HAUSER - The mayor's seat held by Olita Johnston and the council seats of Rodney Lindsay, Claire Hatfield and William Ray are up for election.

Hatfield has filed for mayor and Johnston said she plans to file for re-election.

HAYDEN LAKE - Council seat No. 2 holder Tom Gorman and No. 4 holder Jim Ackerman have filed for re-election.

WORLEY - Council seats held by Keith Gilbert and Richard Wienclaw are up for election. Gilbert has filed for re-election.

HARRISON - The mayor's seat held by Wanda Irish and four-year council seats of Will Butler, Rich Lund and Mark Wagner are up for election, along with the two-year seat formerly held by the late Ron Elliott.

No one has filed.

HUETTER - City council incumbents Latasha Sumner and John Whitaker have filed for re-election.