The Wahkiakum County Eagle - Established as The Skamokawa Eagle in 1891

Cathlamet resident Dixie Kolditz has announced she will be a Republican candidate for state representative. She has said she will file for the position now held by Democrat Dean Takko.

According to her website, Kolditz was born and raised in a segregated black township in Johannesburg, South Africa during apartheid. As a young woman, she participated in the political process, taught voter education classes, and also voted in South Africa’s first free election.

In 1995, while working as a reporter for a large weekly newspaper, Kolditz received a journalism scholarship from the Scripps-Howard news service to attend Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, and there she met and married her husband, Ross, a southwest Washington native, and started a family. After a seven year process, she became a citizen of the United States in 2004.

The Kolditzes own and operate two businesses, one, a company providing residential care to people with disabilities, and the other, a wholesale home décor company. They employ 150 people.

Kolditz said Tuesday that she is running for office because she wants to have an impact on the forces that affect people's lives.

"There are always changes that you never have control over," she said. "You feel so powerless. I felt we need to get involved and make a difference, to make an impact on the issues that affect our families, our businesses, our lives.

"This is a decision that I did not take lightly. I had to think about the effects of the campaign on my family and businesses. Our family feels strongly about contributing to our community."

In 2010, Kolditz was invited by US Rep. Jamie Herrera-Beutler to testify to Congress about her business experiences and challenges with government regulation, and their impact on business. She said she is passionate about the free market and about people being able to provide for themselves and their families.

"But the expansion of government and regulation hinders growth and threatens our economy," she said in making her announcement.

Marsyla running for PUD board

Wahkiakum County Commissioner Lisa Marsyla this week announced that while she won't run for re-election to that seat, she will be a candidate for the District 1 seat on the Wahkiakum PUD board of commissioners.

Gene Healy holds the position; he was appointed last year to fill a vacancy when incumbent Larry Reese resigned.

Marsyla had previously announced she wouldn't run for a second term on the county commission.

"Recently, I announced that I would not seek another term as Wahkiakum County Commissioner of District 1 because I was anticipating enrolling my daughter in a Mandarin immersion program in Portland which would take me out of the county several days a week," she said in a written statement. "I did not believe, with the time commitment that the county commissioner postion requires, that I could effectively serve the residents.

"However, I did not announce I was leaving the community. I have a beautiful home in this community as well as a successful accounting business."

She added that when she learned that Puget Island resident Lee Tischer had decided not to run for PUD commission--he had announced last year on Facebook that he would seek the job, she decided to run for that position.

"I was excited to consider this position as a perfect opportunity for me to continue serving the residents of this community," she said. "While this elected office is a commitment, I do not anticipate the time commitment to be as exhaustive as that of the county commissioner."

Marsyla has experience with the PUD; she served as auditor for the entity for several years.

Tischer said this week that he was intending to retire from the Wahkiakum County Road Department in 2013 when he announced the intention to run for the PUD board.

"But I've decided it was best for our family if I wait and retire in 2015," he told The Eagle on Monday. "To make a long story short, I have decided not to run this year and to give it a look in two years. I would want to be able to give the PUD commissioner position my full-time attention and not try to juggle my time between work and commissioner duties."

Tischer is a member of the Wahkiakum School District board of directors and was recently appointed to fill a vacancy on the board of commissioners of Fire Protection District No. 1 on Puget Island.

Filing starts Monday

Filing for positions on the 2012 local election ballots will take place May 14-18 in the office of the Wahkiakum County Auditor.

Local positions on the ballot will include:

County treasurer, 2-year unexpired term; County commissioner, Districts 1 and 2, 4-year terms; Wahkiakum PUD commissioner, Position 1, 2-year unexpired term, and Wahkiakum PUD commissioner, Position 2, 6-year term; Precinct committee persons (2-year terms); Congressional District 3; Legislative District 19--State Senator (4-year term) and State Representative, Positions 1 and 2 (2-year terms) Superior Court judge for Wahkiakum and Pacific counties; and Court of Appeals, Division 2, District 3.