A race for another Lewis County office is heating up just as candidate filing week arrives.
Three candidates have filed financial disclosures and plan to run for Lewis County auditor this fall after news of the impending retirement of longtime Auditor Larry Grove.
One of those candidates promises that if he is elected he will “audit the votes and open the books.”
Current Mossyrock School District Board of Directors Chair and former Lewis County Republicans Chair Mitchel Townsend believes he has a combination of leadership experience and education that puts him a cut above his opponents.
Townsend paid a visit to The Chronicle last week to discuss his platform and, with it, a subject at the center of his campaign: election reform.
Townsend refers to his platform as a “Contract with Lewis County,” which highlights four goals for the office of auditor: auditing every county department, including the auditor’s office; auditing the county’s voter lists; making the county’s finances public; and pushing for election reform at the state level.
Townsend said he believes Grove has done a “great job" in the role as the county’s chief election official and financial auditor, but he said it's time to add to that success and “supercharge” the auditor’s office.
“Every few years, and especially after a couple administrations or a couple terms, it's time for an organizational evaluation from the top to the bottom,” Townsend said.
Townsend recalls having concerns with the state's election system dating back to the election of Gov. Chris Gregoire, which was the closest in state history. Her opponent, Dino Rossi, was declared the winner in two machine ballot counts before a hand recount declared Gregoire victorious.
As auditor, Townsend would become the lead election official in Lewis County, which he sees as an opportunity to call for election reform from within the institution. Townsend said his effort to reform elections goes beyond political affiliation and is meant to bring safe and fair elections to all Washington residents.
Townsend is a believer of voter identification along the same lines as the SAVE Act at the federal level and a fledgling state initiative supported by state Rep. Jim Walsh. Those policies call for voters to verify their citizenship with a passport, birth certificate or other certified documents when registering to vote.
Townsend also believes state election officials should no longer accept ballots that arrive after election night, should provide final election results by the end of election day and should make it easier for voters to verify that their ballot was properly counted. Townsend hopes he can bring about these changes to the state voting system from the seat as Lewis County’s top election official.
Townsend compared voting with credit card transactions, seeing the volume of transactions as a model for a successful election system.
“There's no reason we can't audit every vote with every voter after every election and match a voter with a vote,” he said.
Townsend sees the Lewis County auditor as a leadership position. While he said he first considered running for county commissioner, he sees the auditor as the “most important job” in the county behind commissioner and sheriff.
He admits he is not a certified public accountant like many of the staff within the office, but highlights that it’s his leadership experience, which includes education and military service, that qualify him for the position.
“This is an executive level position, and it requires an executive level experience,” Townsend said.
As Townsend currently serves as the board chair of the Mossyrock School District Board of Directors, he says he will relinquish the position at the end of his current term if he is elected county auditor. He also not so long ago served as chair of the Lewis County Republican Party, a position he resigned from in June of last year.
Despite departing from the party due to some internal differences with some of the members, Townsend said he is still dedicated to the local party, which is, at least in part, why he opted to run for auditor instead of county commissioner.
That race is already packed with two established Republican candidates in Commissioner Scott Brummer and Lewis County PUD Commissioner Michael Hadaller along with two other candidates, Lewis County Democrats Chair Zac Eckstein and Toledo business owner Kyle Wheeler.
According to Townsend, conversations with members of the local Republicans that he used to lead, as well as Brummer and fellow incumbent Commissioner Sean Swope, convinced him that running for auditor with a focus on election reform would be his best course of action.
“I didn't want to take away a lot of his support from the party, and so I thought it was better for the party and probably for the county if I stepped back and reassessed other opportunities,” Townsend said
Townsend is one of three candidates who appear poised to register for the 2026 ballot come candidate filing week next Monday through Friday.
Lewis County Planning Commission Chair Frank Corbin announced his campaign for the position last month. Chehalis resident Mitchell Merrill declared his candidacy around the same time, adding the first photos to a campaign Facebook page on March 15.
Lewis County Auditor’s Office ready for Candidate Filing Week
The Lewis County Auditor’s Office last month put out information regarding Candidate Filing Week, which lasts from May 4 to 8.
According to a news release from the auditor’s office, candidates can file one of three ways:
• Online from May 4 to May 8 from 8 a.m. Monday to 5 p.m. Friday. To file online, go to https://tinyurl.com/4e3yhu3p and select “Online Candidate Filing.” Candidates who choose to file electronically may pay their filing fees online by credit card.
• In person from May 4 to May 8, 8 a.m.–5 p.m., in the Lewis County Auditor’s Office’s Elections Department. Candidates will be required to file using the online filing system at a customer kiosk. Assistance will be provided as needed.
• By mail from April 20 to May 8. The declaration must be received by May 8 at 5 p.m. Filings submitted by mail will be held for processing until May 4, when filing opens for all candidates.
Candidates can withdraw by submitting a signed request, which must be received by Monday, May 11, at 5 p.m. Filing fees are not refundable.
To see the list of offices open for filing, as well as current incumbent and filing fees, visit https://tinyurl.com/4e3yhu3p and select the “Offices Open for Election” link.
Up-to-date candidate filings can be viewed at https://tinyurl.com/4e3yhu3p by selecting the “Candidates Who Have Filed” link.
To file, applicants must be a registered voter of the district and meet the residency requirements for the office they are filing for, pay the filing fee and provide an email address.
Residents’ names will not appear on any official list as a candidate for office until their declaration of candidacy is approved and their filing fee is paid.
Lot draw will be May 8 at 5 p.m. in the auditor’s office’s Election Department. The candidate with the most votes in the primary election in August will be listed first on the general election ballot in November. If there is not a primary, the lot drawing conducted at the end of filing week will be the order on the ballot, a news release from the auditor’s office stated.
