Annual Oysterville Regatta, c. 1870s

‘Filing week’ – the official beginning of election season in our state – ended at 4:00 p.m. yesterday.  Apparently, Pacific County Commissioners Steve Rogers (District One) and Frank Wolfe (District Two) will not be running unopposed, despite expectations to the contrary.  Two “last-minute” challengers threw their hats into the ring so perhaps we can look forward to an exciting summer and fall right here in our own back yards.  After all, everyone loves a horse race, or in the case of the residents on the banks of Willapa Bay, everyone loves a boat race!

Oysterville is represented by the Commissioner in the District Two position.  I understand that Fred Hill will be running against Frank as he did the last time around.  Presumably, Fred feels that now that Frank has had a term to prove himself (one way or another) it’s time to take it to the voters for confirmation… or not.  Ditto the challenger to Steve Rogers of South Bend.

I imagine that the citizens of Oysterville will be watching closely, attending any ‘debates’ and posing questions to the candidates.  For the first time in forty years, we’ve felt a bit shaky about our relationship with the County.  The ordinance providing for the Oysterville Historic District and for the County-sponsored Oysterville Design Review Board has come under close scrutiny by County officials this year and not all Oystervillians have been happy with the resulting interpretations and suggested solutions by the powers-that-be.

Community Meeting, October 20, 2015, Oysterville

Come to think about it, not only Oysterville residents have been concerned.  As last October’s meeting with the Commissioners at the Oysterville School House demonstrated, Oysterville’s status is, at the very least, a Peninsula-wide issue.  The determination about the Historic District’s future and related issues concerning Commissioner oversight of the DCD (Department of Community Development) are bound to be matters of discussion and debate by the electorate-at wide, not just by the residents of our little village.

So hold onto your hats, Frank and Steve!  We wish you fair winds and following seas but… sailing into term two may not go as smoothly as expected!