2 school board leaders file to run for higher elected office in Tri-Cities
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gabe Galbraith filed to run for the 8th Legislative District state Senate seat.
- Nikki Torres will also seek the seat after a redistricting shuffle.
- Micah Valentine is seeking the Benton PUD District 2 seat, and might go unchallenged.
Two Kennewick School Board leaders are eyeing higher office in this year’s election — and at least one of them plans to stay on if he wins a position in the state Legislature.
School board President Gabe Galbraith and Vice President Micah Valentine handily won reelection to the school board last year, and this week filed to run for two more elected positions.
Galbraith is running for the 8th Legislative District’s open Senate seat, while Valentine is seeking the District 2 position on the Benton PUD Commission currently held by Jeff Hall.
Filing week began Monday and concludes 5 p.m. Friday.
Galbraith has served on the school board for nearly five years. He told the Tri-City Herald that he’s since learned that the power to make big decisions in education lie with the Legislature.
State Sen. Matt Boehnke, the current seat holder, is running for Congress.
“I feel like I’ve done an excellent job here, have built a lot of support, and feel I’m the right representative to go up and represent the 8th,” Galbraith said.
He points to the Kennewick School District’s budget, which is the healthiest in the greater Tri-Cities region. Under Galbraith’s tenure, the board also hired a new superintendent, approved a new elementary safety officer program and took a stand to keep “boys out of girls’ sports.”
More recently, the board passed a policy that limits what kinds of non-U.S. flags can be displayed in the classroom.
“Over the last five years we also rebuilt community trust… We’ve been able to reestablish that, and I think the levy passing is proof of that,” he said.
If elected to the Legislature, Galbraith said he “100%” plans to stay on the school board, but would step down from any leadership positions.
That means he would have to call in remotely to school board meetings while he’s in Olympia. The session runs 60 days on even years, and 105 days on odd years.
“I have no intention of leaving the school board unless there’s a law that restricts that,” he said. “I have no concerns with how effective I can be doing that remotely.”
State Sen. Nikki Torres has filed for the same seat.
Galbraith’s been critical of Torres’ intentions to move into the 8th Legislative District in order to run, and says his values better align with the conservative district.
Both are running as Republicans. In the 2024 presidential election, Donald Trump carried the 8th Legislative District by 24 percentage points over Kamala Harris.
Torres currently serves as the 15th Legislative District’s senator, but had to move after a redistricting lawsuit.
She told the Tri-City Herald that she moved to a new home on Road 64 in Pasco in February to be eligible to run in the 8th District. She said it’s a perfectly reasonable move, and believes voters will choose her experience in this race.
“I ran the first time because I care about the community, and I’m still running because I care about the community,” she said, noting that she’s “spent years showing up for the Tri-Cities” and working toward conservative policies in Olympia.
Both candidates grew up in the Tri-Cities — Galbraith a Kamiakin Brave and Torres a Pasco Bulldog.
Torres is an account executive at Western Governors University, and she is former president of the Tri-Cities Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. She serves as Republican Deputy Floor Leader in the state Senate.
Galbraith works as a security specialist at the Hanford nuclear site, and owns a small business renting bounce houses.
As of Tuesday, Valentine appeared to be the only candidate registered to run for the PUD seat.
He declined to speak to the Tri-City Herald about his decision to seek a second elected position, saying he would prefer to wait until after filing week is finished.
Here is the list of candidates who filed in key races so far this week in Benton and Franklin counties.
The Aug. 4 primary will whittle the field of candidates down to the two with the most votes, who will face off in the Nov. 3 general election. Most winners will take office in January 2027.
Federal and state offices
U.S. House Washington 4th District
- Amanda McKinney, Republican
- Matt Boehnke, Republican
- John Duresky, Democrat
- Jacek “Jack” Kobiesa, no party preference
- Jerrod Sessler, Republican
U.S. House Washington 5th District
- Michael Baumgartner (incumbent), Republican
- Carmela Conroy, Democrat
- David Womack, Democrat
- Matthew Hayes, independent
- Nate Powell, no party preference
- Ann Marie Danimus, independent
- Bajun Mavalwalla, Democrat
Washington Legislature — District 8
State Rep. Position 1
- Stephanie Barnard (incumbent), Republican
State Rep. Position 2
- April Connors (incumbent), Republican
State Senator
- Gabe Galbraith, Republican
- Nikki Torres, Republican
Washington Legislature — District 14
State Rep. Position 1
- Chelsea Dimas, Democrat
- Gloria Mendoza (incumbent), Republican
State Rep. Position 2
- Deb Manjarrez (incumbent), Republican
- Ezequiel Morfin, Democrat
- Tony Sandoval, Democrat
Washington Legislature — District 15
State Rep. Position 1
- Chris Corry (incumbent), Republican
State Rep. Position 2
- Reedy Berg, Republican
- Liz Hallock, No Kings Party
State Senator
- Jeremie Dufault, Republican
Washington Legislature — District 16
State Rep. Position 1
- Mark Klicker (incumbent), Republican
State Rep. Position 2
- Skyler Rude (incumbent), Republican
- Derek Sarley, Democrat
Washington Supreme Court
Justice Position 1
- Colleen Melody (incumbent)
- Scott Edwards
Justice Position 3
- Jaime Michelle Hawk
- Mike Diaz
- David Stevens
Justice Position 4
- Ian Birk
- Sean O’Donnell
Justice Position 5
- Theo Angelis (incumbent)
- Sharonda Amamilo
- Dave Larson
Justice Position 7
- Debra Stephens (incumbent)
Court of Appeals, Division 3, District 2
Judge Position 1
- Tyson Hill (incumbent)
Benton County
Assessor
- Bill Spencer (incumbent), Republican
Auditor
- Brenda Chilton (incumbent), Republican
Board of County Commission, District No. 2
- Michael Alvarez (incumbent), Republican
Clerk
- Josie Delvin (incumbent), Republican
Coroner
- William “Bill” Leach (incumbent), Republican
Prosecuting Attorney
- Eric Eisinger (incumbent), Republican
Sheriff
- Michael Clark (incumbent), Republican
Treasurer
- Kenneth Spencer Jr. (incumbent), Republican
District Court Judge 1
- Michael “Mike” Rio
District Court Judge 2
- James “Jim” Bell (incumbent)
District Court Judge 3
- Dan Kathren (incumbent)
District Court Judge 5
- Jennifer Azure (incumbent)
Public Utility District, Commissioner Pos. 2
- Micah Valentine
Richland City Council, Position 4
- Todd Samuel (appointed)
- David Tveraas
- Kyle Saltz
- Ragan Faylor
Franklin County
Assessor
- John Rosenau (incumbent), Republican
- Chris Hollingsworth, Republican
Auditor
- Matt Beaton (incumbent), Republican
Clerk
- Ruby Ochoa, Republican
Coroner
- Curtis McGary, Republican (incumbent)
Sheriff
- Christopher Lee, Republican
- Monty Huber, Republican
- Kohl Peter, independent
Treasurer
- Josie Koelzer (incumbent), Republican
District Court Judge
- Trinity Orosco (incumbent)
Port of Pasco, Commissioner District No. 3
- Hans-Joachim Engelke (incumbent)
Public Utility District, District No. 2
- Tim Nies
