With election's filing week looming, Bremerton councilmember announces county run
Candidate filing week for elected officials is a little over two weeks away as election season gets started, and one sitting elected official in Bremerton has thrown his hat in the ring as a candidate for the District 2 seat with the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners.
Jeff Coughlin, a current Bremerton City Councilman, NASA scientist and nonprofit organizer announced his run on Facebook on Monday.
Commissioner Charlotte Garrido has held the District 2 seat since 2008, serving four consecutive terms representing South Kitsap. Garrido, a Democrat, was most recently elected in 2020 when she beat out political newcomer and Republican Oran Root, gathering 56.1% of the vote. Garrido told the Kitsap Sun Thursday that she has not made a decision yet on whether or not she will run for a fifth term, but that she would make an announcement soon.
Candidates planning to run in the 2024 primary and general election will officially declare those intentions during filing week in Kitsap County, which opens Monday, May 6 and runs through Friday, May 10. More information on filing is available through the Kitsap County Auditor, at its website or in person at 619 Division Street in Port Orchard. Residents may also file as write-in candidates during an open period in late July and again before the general election.
The 2024 primary election will be held August 6, and the general election is scheduled for November 5. This will be a heavy election schedule, with offices including the U.S. presidency, Washington governor, and a U.S. Sixth District Congressional race to replace Rep. Derek Kilmer that has already drawn names like state Commissioner of Public Lands Hilary Franz, state Sen. Emily Randall (D-Bremerton) and state Sen. Drew MacEwan (R-Allyn). Ballots will also include candidates for a second county commissioner seat, currently held by Commissioner Christine Rolfes, all of the area's state legislative delegation and Kitsap Superior Court's eight judge positions.
One other notable name has already announced a campaign, with Jesse Young, a Gig Harbor Republican who previously served as the 26th District State Representative from 2014 to 2023, planning a run for the same seat currently occupied by Rep. Spencer Hutchins (R-Gig Harbor).
Coughlin began his tenure in the Bremerton City Council focused on supporting small businesses and a vibrant downtown. After he dove deep into larger challenges that the city was facing that echoed regionally and even nationwide, he began to look toward a county-level position. As council president in 2023 Coughlin wrote one of the first resolutions to highlight the ferry issue in Bremerton, was a founding member of the Alliance for Equitable Healthcare and worked to provide solutions for the wider homelessness crisis by collaborating to pass the City’s unauthorized camping ban and a resolution to pursue a hybrid low-barrier shelter.
“I realized how much of a regional connection is needed,” Coughlin said. “And I think that's where my skill set is – to work on the regional level and, by proxy, help out the whole county, including Bremerton and other cities.”
Coughlin says it will be critical that commissioners make smart decisions to promote affordable housing and create density in growing areas. He also wants to streamline duplicated services and fill untended gaps in the homeless service world, bring additional healthcare to a county in shortfall and apply his experience with the Warren Avenue Bridge to make the Gorst corridor safe and multi-modal with cost-effective solutions.
“My plan is to start reaching out to folks all across the district and South Kitsap, finding out what they need from the County to make their lives better,” Coughlin said. “I'm just really excited to get out there and start talking to folks.”
This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Bremerton councilman announces run for commissioner role
