Candidate files for short Congressional term

By Evan Smith

One candidate already has filed to run for the short term in the old 1st Congressional District.

While former Lynnwood City Councilwoman Lisa Utter continues to collect signatures to qualify for the ballot, J. Byron Holcomb of Bainbridge Island has filed for the position.

Holcomb was the only candidate who had filed for the position with the secretary of state’s office by Monday afternoon.

Filing continues through Friday at 5 p.m.

Utter said Monday that if she doesn’t collect the required 1,740 signatures by Friday afternoon, she would decide whether to pay the $1,740 filing fee.

Voters in the old 1st District will vote this fall on filling the vacancy created by the resignation of Congressman Jay Inslee, who is running for governor.

At the same time, voters will elect full-term representatives from whatever new districts they live in – the 7th District for Shoreline and Lake Forest Park, the 2nd District for Utter’s home town of Lynnwood plus Mountlake Terrace and Brier, the 6th District for Holcomb’s home area of Bainbridge and the new 1st District for some other areas.

The person elected to the short term will serve in Congress from the Dec. 6 certification of the November election until the term ends Jan. 3.

Holcomb, like Utter, will run as a Democrat.

The top two vote getters in the Aug. 7 primary advance to the Nov. 6 general election, regardless of party.

Neither Holcomb nor Utter is a candidate for a full term.