By MIKE HUFFMAN
Staff Reporter
It took until the last day of last week's filing period, but it looks like there may be an election season in Medical Lake after all.
John R. Paikuli, a 26-year city resident who runs his own insurance company, Paikuli and Associates, in Medical Lake, filed Friday afternoon to run against incumbent Sam Julagay for Position 6 of the City Council.
“I just really felt somebody should get their name in there,” Paikuli said, adding he wasn't singling out Julagay or had any real criticism of the Council. “I just would like to serve and do something to help out.”
Before Friday, there were no challengers in any of the races. Incumbent Councilmen Howard Jorgenson and Art Kulibert, who are also up for re-election, will run unopposed.
The same holds true on the Medical Lake School District board of directors, as Rod Von Lehe, Julie Albright and Ron Cooper are all without challengers and will likely serve another four-year term apiece.
Paikuli, a political newcomer, served as a police officer in Medical Lake for two years in the 1990s before opening Paikuli and Associates. He is 37 years old and attended Brigham Young University. He is married and has four kids, two of whom are attending Medical Lake schools.
Paikuli graduated from Medical Lake High School in 1988.
This year, the primary election has been moved up over a month to Aug. 21. That, in turn, moved up filing week, which may have caught some potential candidates by surprise. The deadline to pull paperwork from the Spokane County Elections Office, 1033 W. Gardner, was last Friday at 5 p.m.
Asked why he thought he might be the only one with an interest in running for office, Paikuli said he really didn't know.
“Out of six races, I'm the only one running against anybody,” he said. “I don't know whether it's just apathy, or what.”
Mike Huffman can be reached at mhuffman@cheneyfreepress.com
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