Unopposed candidate publicly withdraws from race, name will appear on ballot

An unopposed candidate for a local race in the Nov. 7 election has withdrawn.

Peg LeBlanc, who was running for commissioner 4 for the San Juan County Public Hospital District 1, told the Journal she was no longer running. The election ballots were printed prior to her announcement, so her name will appear as a viable option to voters.

If she had withdrawn prior to the printing, LeBlanc would have required a court order to have her name removed, according to Joseph MacLean, election program specialist in the certification training program for Washington state.

As she is running unopposed, it is highly possible LeBlanc will be elected unless voters write in another candidate.

The hospital district will decide how to proceed. Pamela Hutchins, district superintendent and secretary to the board, said that if LeBlanc is elected, she can resign, and commissioners will appoint a replacement through public interviews.

That selected commissioner would serve two years of the six-year term and the seat would go to the ballots in 2019 to start serving the following year. Public hospital district candidates are voted on in odd years, said Camolyn Armstrong, elections supervisor for the county’s elections office.

The last day for candidates to withdraw from this year’s general election, said Armstrong, was May 22.

LeBlanc, a marriage and family therapist in Friday Harbor, declined to comment further on this story.

For more information on the San Juan County Public Hospital District 1 candidates read this article.

Check the Journal for updates.

– Hayley Day contributed to this story.