There will be at least two new faces in Lincoln County government next year, after filings for the May 17 primary election closed Tuesday evening.

Five men are seeking Position 1 on the board of commissioners, replacing Doug Hunt who is retiring after 10 years. Also, three men filed to run against commissioner Kaety Jacobson, who is first elected in May 2018 and is seeking re-election.

If no single candidate for the nonpartisan position receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two advance to the general election in November. The number of filers for both positions – especially for Position 1 where there is no incumbent – means there is a strong likelihood of a November runoff.

And, for the first time in 32 years Lincoln County will have a new clerk, as Dana Jenkins, who has held the office since 1990, decided to retire. Amy Southwell of Toledo, the chief deputy clerk, was the only person to file for the office, which is non-partisan.

Because Southwell and county treasurer Jayne Welch were the only ones to file for those offices, they will skip the May primary and go directly and appear alone on the November ballot.

Lincoln County Circuit Judge Amanda Benjamin will also be unopposed for the seat to which she was appointed last May by Gov. Kate Brown. She lost a judicial race to Marcia Buckley in November 2020 before being appointed last year to fill a vacancy when Judge Thomas Branford retired.

There are no primary contests for legislative seats in Lincoln County.

Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, was the only Democrat filing for House District 10. Similarly, Celeste McEntee of Newport, who staged an unsuccessful write-in campaign for the county commission in 2020 and is a part of the Mo’s Enterprises operation, was the only Republican filing for the House District 10 seat. While Gomberg and McEntee will both be on the May 17 ballot, they won’t meet directly until the November general election.

On the ballot for Hunt’s Position 1 on the board of commissioners are:

Greg Holland, the mayor of Waldport who served on the city council there for 12 years before his election in 2020;
Casey Miller of Newport, the county’s longtime public information officer;
Mitch Parsons, a member of the city council in Lincoln City and president of the Depoe Bay Chamber of Commerce;
Carter McEntee of Newport, the son of Celeste McEntee and general manager of Mo’s Enterprises, which operates Mo’s Seafood and Chowder restaurants; and
Walter Chuck of Newport, plant manager for Hiland Water Services in Otis and a longtime member of the Port of Newport Commission.

Steve Sparks of Depoe Bay, a retired technology manager and organizer of a child and family trauma recovery group, withdrew an earlier filing application and will not run for the seat.

In addition to Jacobson filing for re-election, also seeking that Position 4 seat are:

Mark Watkins of Newport, a food industry business consultant, volunteer with the sheriff’s search and rescue team, and member of the Newport airport advisory committee;
Ryan Parker, a Newport city council member since 2019; and
Randy Mallette of Otis, owner of Pipe Dreams marijuana dispensary in Lincoln City.