Spring district elections are ahead, with openings in both the Seaside School District and Sunset Empire Park and Recreation District. Voting takes place on May 16.

Candidates have until March 16 to file for all special district races. Ballots will be mailed between April 26 and May 2.

Open school district board seats include Zone 1, Position 1, held by Shannon Swedenborg, a former teacher, representing Cannon Beach; Zone 2, Position 4, representing Gearhart, held by Mark Truax, an Astoria firefighter; and Zone 5, Position 1, representing Seaside, held by Sondra Gomez, an operations manager at Vacasa.

The Zone 3, Position 1 seat held by Chris Corder, a local businessman, also comes open. Corder was appointed by the board of directors in November 2021 to fill the unexpired term of A.J. Wahl, who stepped down to serve as a county judge.

None of those currently holding board seats have declared candidacy, according to the county elections division.

On Feb. 15, Kevin Lacoste, a Gearhart resident, filed for the Zone 4, Position 2 seat. Lacoste is a retired senior vice president and regional president of US Bank.

Interested community members can contact the county elections office or Leslie Garvin in the district office for information and the filing paperwork, Susan Penrod, the district superintendent, said.

Park district board openings

In the park district, the Position 4 seat, held by Kyle Gorman, and the Position 5 seat, held by board president Katharine Parker, are up for reelection. Their terms expire June 30.

Parker is the head secretary for Seaside High School and has served on the park district board since December 2019. She was appointed to fill the unexpired Position 5 term of Lindsey Morrison, who resigned from the board.

Parker was elected in 2021 to fill the remaining two years of the term, defeating Steven Morrison.

Gorman took the oath of office in October, among four candidates seeking to replace Erika Hamer-Marshall, who resigned in August. Gorman, who is retired, trained as a paramedic before becoming the executive officer for Clackamas County Fire. He is a member of Seaside’s Community Emergency Response Team.

Gorman submitted his filing to the elections division on Feb. 14.

No other candidates have yet to file a declaration of candidacy.

The park district does not distribute election packets, Skyler Archibald, the executive director, said. Candidates can get information from the county elections or from online.