A candidate for the Washougal School Board has decided he no longer wants to run for a position that he thought was vacant.
Jason Ferrier said he decided to run for the board’s District 2 spot in May, but didn’t realize incumbent Elaine Pfeifer also planned to file.
He said some people, who thought the position was vacant, had encouraged him to run.
“It was my first time running for anything, so I’m kind of new to the process,” Ferrier said. “It was kind of a last-minute thing. I thought I would enjoy doing it.”
Ferrier said he wanted to withdraw from the race for multiple reasons, one of which is because his wife is a teacher in the school district.
“People might see that as a conflict of interest,” he said.
Ferrier thought he would have time to withdraw from the race, however, the deadline to withdraw ended a few days after the filing deadline, he said.
“There was just confusion about the withdrawal process,” he said. “I would have liked to have gotten my name off the ballot.”
Because Ferrier’s name will still appear on the ballot, he said he wants to encourage people to vote for Pfeifer. “She’s done a great job,” he said.
Pfeifer has served in the District 2 seat since 2004 and has spent more than 3,000 hours in that role working with multiple board members and superintendents, she said in her voters’ pamphlet statement.
“My board experience and knowledge of the educational system as well as district history will help facilitate the transition of a new superintendent and the completion of major construction projects and initiatives ahead of us,” she wrote.
