By Reader Staff
The candidate filing period for city and special district elections remains open until Friday, Sept. 8 at 5 p.m., with the offices of mayor and three Sandpoint City Council seats up for election on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
The declaration period is for candidates wishing to be on the ballot, as well as write-ins.
Voters will be asked to cast ballots for the mayor’s office, currently held by Shelby Rognstad, and the three council seats currently held by Andy Groat, Kate McAlister and Deb Ruehle.
The mayor and council seats are all four-year terms.
Forms required to run for office — including the filing packet, write-in declaration of intent and others — are available at voteidaho.gov/city-resources.
Upon completion of their petition, candidates for city offices are required to visit the Bonner County Elections Office (1500 U.S. Highway 2), to be certified prior to filing with the Sandpoint city clerk. Likewise, those intending to run for office must visit Bonner County Elections to establish that they have taken the proper steps to appoint a campaign treasurer, which must be done before a candidate is allowed to accept or spend any campaign funds.
Campaign finance matters should be directed to the Bonner County Clerk’s Office. More information is also available at sos.idaho.gov/elections-division/campaign-finance-filing.
As of press time Aug. 30, McAlister had declared she would run for mayor and Amelia Boyd — who currently serves on the Sandpoint Planning and Zoning Commission — had declared her candidacy for the City Council.
Meanwhile, two seats on the Lake Pend Oreille School District Board of Trustees will be up for election in November. The terms for Trustees Purley Decker and Geraldine Lewis both expire in 2023. Lewis, who serves as board chair and represents Zone 4 — south of Highway 200 including Sagle to East Dufort Road, east of Highway 95 — has already publicly declared she will seek reelection.
The forms required to run for special district office, including the LPOSD board, are also available at voteidaho.gov/city-resources, as well as by visiting bonnercountyid.gov/departments/elections.
Other election information is available at voteidaho.gov.
While we have you ...
... if you appreciate that access to the news, opinion, humor, entertainment and cultural reporting in the Sandpoint Reader is freely available in our print newspaper as well as here on our website, we have a favor to ask. The Reader is locally owned and free of the large corporate, big-money influence that affects so much of the media today. We're supported entirely by our valued advertisers and readers. We're committed to continued free access to our paper and our website here with NO PAYWALL - period. But of course, it does cost money to produce the Reader. If you're a reader who appreciates the value of an independent, local news source, we hope you'll consider a voluntary contribution. You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.
You can contribute at either Paypal or Patreon.
Contribute at Patreon Contribute at Paypal
Coming up this week! Don’t miss out on Toast To Pride, Kental Mountain Tour, Opening Day at the Farmer’s Market... and more! See the full list of events in the 
