UNION COUNTY — As summer temperatures cool down, the Union County election season is starting to heat up.

Voters can anticipate two countywide races on the ballot this coming November with the Union County sheriff’s election and the race for Position 3 on the Union County Board of Commissioners.

Cove, Elgin and Island City all have contested mayoral races and uncontested city council races. Voters in Union will see a contested mayoral race and one contested city council race.

The remaining elections in Imbler, La Grande, North Powder and Summerville are all uncontested.

Here is everyone who has filed to run in Union County for the November general election.

Countywide elections

Shane Rollins, of Cove, is running against incumbent Cody Bowen for Union County sheriff.

Rollins, an excavation contractor, served 21 years in the Marine Corps. His time in the military included 10 years with its military police force.

Bowen is completing his first four-year term as sheriff. Before being elected sheriff he was a deputy and has worked for the Union County Sheriff’s Office full-time since 2011.

In the Union County Board of Commissioners race, Mark Simmons will face Jake Seavert in a runoff for Position 3.

Simmons, a state representative from 1997-2002 who served as speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives from 2000 to 2002, received 27.18% of the vote during the May primary. Seavert took second with 18.82% of the vote.

Simmons and Seavert were among the nine candidates who tossed their hats into the ring for Position 3 during the primary. Despite his win in May, Simmons was short of the 50% plus one vote majority needed to be elected in the nonpartisan race.

Seavert, 44, is the president of the Union County Cattlemen’s Association and is division manager of Oregon Trail Livestock Supply.

Simmons, 67, is the owner of Simmons and Co., a firm that negotiates sales between seed dealers and farmers.

Both candidates are seeking to succeed Donna Beverage, who is completing her eighth year as commissioner and cannot run for reelection because of term limits Union County voters approved several years ago.

Cove

In Cove, challenger Gerald “Bud” Forrest will face off against incumbent mayor Sherry Haeger. Haeger has served as mayor since she was elected to her first term in 2020.

Boss Parker, Alexis Cannon and Jason Hagey are running uncontested for city council.

Elgin

Elgin voters will see two familiar names on the ballot in November for the mayoral race. Incumbent Stanley “James” Johnson is seeking reelection following the completion of his first two-year term. He is challenged by former mayor Risa Hallgarth.

Hallgarth was appointed mayor in 2021 by the city council to fill the remaining 23-month term of her predecessor, Allan Duffy. She had served on the council for four years and was its president at the time of Duffy’s resignation.

Hallgarth and Johnson first faced off against one another for mayor in 2022. Johnson won the election with 56.97% of votes.

Louise Burck and Larry N. Hicks are running uncontested for city council.

Imbler

In Imbler, Mayor Jason M.L. Berglund Sr. is seeking reelection to his third term. He is running uncontested for the position.

Three city council seats are up for election — Position 2, Position 4 and Position 6. Incumbents Doug G. Turnidge, Daniel J. Daggett and Bob Trotter are each seeking reelection and running unopposed.

Island City

Island City’s incumbent mayor, Dave Comfort, will face off against challenger Patrick Hemann. Comfort is seeking his third term as mayor.

Hemann currently holds Position 4 on the city council. He ran unopposed for the position in 2022. His term is not set to expire until the end of 2026.

For city council, Kevin Hampton is seeking reelection for Position 5. He is running uncontested.

La Grande

In La Grande, Justin Rock is seeking a second term as mayor. He is running unopposed.

Incumbents David Glabe and Mary Ann Miesner are running uncontested for Position 3 and Position 4, respectively. A new face on the city council will be Rikki Jo Hickey, who is running unopposed for Position 2. The seat is currently held by Nicole Howard.

North Powder

There are three uncontested city council elections in North Powder, which will bring new faces to the council.

Doris “Midge” Clause is running for Position 1. She will replace Vicki Townsend. 

Tonya Dias is seeking the Position 4 seat. Dias will replace Justin Wright.

Alan Brown is running for Position 6 and will replace Logan McCrae.

Summerville

Summerville has three uncontested city council races. Jered Schwabauer is running for Position 2, Simon Kinney for Position 4 and Lyle Mann for Position 5.

Union

In Union, challenger Derek “Big Red” Stevens will face off against incumbent Susan Hawkins for mayor. Hawkins is seeking reelection following the completion of her first term as mayor. Hawkins ran in 2022 to replace Leonard Flint, who chose to step down from the position. Before being elected as mayor, she served six years on the city council.

Voters will also see two city council races on the ballot — one contested and one uncontested. All are new faces for the council.

Tim Day will take on Donald D. George for Position 5. Both are seeking to replace John Farmer, who currently holds the position.

Kori Cox is running unopposed for Position 1, which is currently held by Jay Blackburn.