By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
CHEHALIS – While the Lewis County Board of Commissioners just days ago selected Scott Tinney to finish out the term of retired Lewis County Clerk Kathy Brack, the local Republican’s first choice for the position signaled her intentions today to run for the post next year.
Tinney is a Lewis County resident, and comes from the Thurston County Clerk’s Office. He began his new job this week.
Brack vacated the elected office in mid-September, two years into a four-year term. Because she served as a Republican, her party had a role in the process of replacing her.
Carla Shannon was their top pick, among three names the party forwarded to county commissioners.
She registered today with the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission as a candidate to run for for Lewis County clerk in a special election next November.
Shannon is a deputy clerk in the Lewis County Clerk’s Office, where she has worked almost five years. She serves as the courtroom clerk for Lewis County Superior Court Judge Nelson Hunt.
Her campaign treasurer-manager, her husband Jim Shannon, said she’s following up on the commitment she made when she submitted her name to the local Republican party at the end of this summer as a potential replacement for Brack.
He said she congratulated Tinney and also sent a letter to the Republican precinct committee officers to thank them. She got 27 of their 29 votes, he said.
The Lewis County clerk serves as the official record keeper for the Lewis County Superior Court. The job pays $75,108 a year.
The county commissioner’s Vice Chair Gary Stamper said they formally appointed Tinney on Monday.
Stamper said he felt all three candidates were very good and did a great job in the interview process, but they could only choose one.
Tiffini Walker who previously was a deputy clerk in the Lewis County Clerk’s Office was the Republican’s second preferred choice. Tinney was their third.
“Through my questioning and information I received, he had a real broad base and experience in every area the questions centered around,” Stamper said. “And had perspective coming from another county.”
The elected position will be on the ballot again in November 2018, for a regular four-year term.
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For background, read “News brief: Three vying for Lewis County clerk job” from Wednesday November 2, 2016, here [1]