By James Robinson

City Councilman Ben Thomas has thrown his hat in the ring for the District 1 county commissioner’s seat, the second Port Townsend Democrat to enter the race. Thomas will face Heather Dudley-Nollette in the Aug. 6 primary, according to state election records, and there could be others. The deadline to declare candidacies is until 5 p.m. Friday, May 10. The filing period opened May 6.

Thomas, who has lived in Port Townsend since 1976,  has been the winemaker and vineyard manager at Port Townsend Vineyards since 2016. He has served on the Port Townsend City Council since January 2022.

As a city council member, Thomas serves on the Culture and Society Committee, as vice chair of the Jefferson Transit Advisory Board, on the Joint Growth Management Steering Committee and the Peninsula Regional Transit Organization executive board, as the alternate chair for the Jefferson County Fairgrounds Association, and as the council liaison for the Port Townsend Arts Commission.

The decision to run for county council “took a lot of thinking and processing,” Thomas said, adding he felt compelled to enter to help do his part to make Jefferson County a more affordable place to live. Economic challenges can make it difficult for some to move here and live “a thriving life” in the county.

“I want this to be an easier place to live without being rich,” Thomas said. “The commissioners don’t have a lot of control over that, but in any way that they do, I want to make sure we are pushing towards affordability.”

In addition to the District 1 county commissioner seat, the District 2 seat is currently up for election this year. That seat is held by Heidi Eisenhour. She had not filed her candidacy by press time, but she has indicated she will seek re-election. No other candidates had filed for the District 2 seat.