Whatcom Republican Party suggests these three to complete state Sen. Ericksen’s term
Ben Elenbaas, Tawsha Dykstra Thompson and Simon Sefzik were selected as candidates to replace state Sen. Doug Ericksen, according to a news release from the Whatcom County Republican Party Central Committee.
The Whatcom County Council will select someone from the GOP’s list to complete Ericksen’s term at its Jan. 4 meeting.
Elenbaas represents District 5 on the County Council. His term is up in 2024. It’s not known if Elenbaas will vote now that he has been nominated for the state post.
Dykstra Thompson was listed as a corporal with the Bellingham Police Department in 2020 salary records.
Sefzik is the son of Jennifer Sefzik of Custer, a Republican who lost her first run for public office in 2020 when she ran for the Position 2 house seat in 42nd Legislative District.
Ericksen, 52, died Dec. 17 after a five-week battle with COVID-19. He represented the 42nd Legislative District that includes northern Bellingham and northern Whatcom County for more than two decades — from 1998-2010 in the state House and from 2010-2021 in the state Senate.
“Even in our deep sorrow and grief we believe that Doug would have wanted us to work quickly to find a solid conservative Republican to carry on his legacy in Olympia,” Whatcom Republican Chair John Ramsey said in the news release Friday evening, Dec. 31. “To that end, the local Republican party has nominated three highly qualified individuals, one of whom is to carry on the important work of Sen. Ericksen in the Washington State Legislature.”
The new senator could be sworn in before the 2022 legislative session begins on Jan. 10.
Local Republicans reviewed dozens of candidates and voted Thursday, Dec. 30, to forward the recommended three names to the County Council, according to the news release.
When the County Council has replaced state legislators in the past, according to earlier reporting in The Bellingham Herald, it sent questionnaires to nominees, who had a week to answer the questions. The County Council then met to further question each of the nominees and select one.
County Councilmembers Elenbaas and Tyler Byrd said at a special council meeting Wednesday, Dec. 22, that the Council could forego the formal questionnaire, and councilmembers could instead reach out to the nominees individually to ask them questions in the days leading up to a Jan. 4 meeting. This could alleviate the burden on county staff and streamline the process, Elenbaas said.
The 42nd District Senate seat is up for election in 2022. State Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, said earlier that she intends to run for the seat.
This story was originally published January 1, 2022 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Whatcom Republican Party suggests these three to complete state Sen. Ericksen’s term."
