Community Government
Candidate filing week wraps up; two city council races contested
Voters in the city of Gig Harbor will find two contested city council races on their ballots this fall.
Candidate filing for the November 2023 election closed at 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19. Here’s who signed up to run:
City Council
Gig Harbor City Council members are elected at-large to four-year terms. Three of the seven council positions will be on the 2023 ballot. The role is nonpartisan.
Gig Harbor City Council position 4: Incumbent Mary Barber faces Ed Nadler. Barber was appointed in 2021 to replace Tracie Markley when Markley was elected mayor.
Gig Harbor City Council position 5: Ben Coronado and Chris Holstrom filed to run for the post. Incumbent Julie Martin did not file. Martin filled out the term of Robyn Denson, elected in 2022 to the Pierce County Council.
Gig Harbor City Council position 6: Only incumbent Le Rodenberg filed to run for position 6.
Four running for PenMet post
Four people are running for a single seat on the Peninsula Metropolitan Park District commission.
PenMet operates parks outside Gig Harbor city limits between the Narrows and Purdy bridges. It owns nearly 600 acres of parks and other facilities and is building the Community Recreation Center sports complex at the former site of Performance Golf on Center on 14th Avenue NW.
Candidates seeking a six-year term on PenMet’s governing board include Christine A. Bromell of Fox Island, Madelyn Hunter of Gig Harbor, Steven M. Nielsen of Gig Harbor and Billy Sehmel of Fox Island.
The post is the only of five PenMet commission seats before voters this fall. Parks commissioners serve six-year terms.
School board, fire commission and port district
Peninsula School District voters have one contested race and two incumbents running unopposed.
In the one contested race, incumbent school board member Chuck West faces challenger Jack Mende for the director district 1 position.
Incumbents Lori Glover (district 3) and Natalie Wimberly (District 4) are running unopposed for re-election. School board members serve four-year terms.
District 1 is the Key Peninsula west of 118th Street. Rosedale, Gig Harbor North, Maplewood and areas east of Crescent Valley Drive are part of District 3. District 4 includes Artondale, Fox Island and Raft Island. See a map of district boundaries here.
Incumbent Alex Wilsie filed to seek another term on the Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One commission. Wilsie is an assistant fire chief with the Tacoma Fire Department. Fire commissioners serve six-year terms.
Gig Harbor resident Deanna Keller is running to retain her seat on the Port of Tacoma commission. Jeannette Twitty of Tacoma also seeks the same post, commissioner position 3.
The downtown Gig Harbor ballot drop box is now at the Civic Center, instead of Gig Harbor Fire & Medic One Station 51.