NOTE: See update on this race here: 

• Matthew Owen and Chet Albin Withdraw from Eureka City Council Race Before it Even Begins

PREVIOUSLY:

• Melinda Ciarabellini Bows Out of Reelection Bid With Classy, Heartfelt Letter to the People of Eureka

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UPDATE, 2:55 p.m.: And then there were three! Eureka City Clerk Pam Powell confirms that Heidi Messner has turned in her nomination packet this afternoon. Powell confirms Messner is a registered voter in the Second Ward and successfully collected the required signature.  

Messner is a newcomer to local politics. She is the co-pastor at Faith Center, arguably the largest church in Humboldt County. The following blurb comes to us via the Faith Center staff bio page:

Heidi is an experienced Christian Counselor with a B.A. from Life Pacific College and her M.A. in Counseling from Northwest University.  She enjoys creative arts, drama, music, writing, teaching, sports, travel, and building long term relationship with people that she hopes to take into eternity.

One application packet remains outstanding. 5 p.m. approacheth. 

—Andrew Goff

Above: Your 2016 Eureka City Council Races!

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Original Post: In yesterday’s round-up of the state of the upcoming Eureka City Council races, we noted that Second Ward Candidate Matthew Owen was at the time running all alone, with the deadline to file rapidly approaching this afternoon.

(Those needing a refresher on how Eureka’s convoluted electoral system works may click here.)Well, that is no longer the case! As reported on the blog of Friend o’ Matt John Chiv this morning, former Fifth Ward Councilmember Chet Albin, who had lived in the Second Ward right up until the moment he was appointed to serve on the council, has de-carpetbagged himself to his ancestral homeland in order to take Owen on. 

And that may not be all! Three other people have taken out nomination packets in the Second Ward, Eureka City Clerk Pam Powell told the Outpost this afternoon. Those people have until 5 p.m. today to submit their paperwork to the City Clerk’s office, along with 20 valid signatures from registered Eureka voters. Those of them who do will earn a place in the middle — or to the left, more probably — of this Owen-Albin showdown.

Albin was appointed to the Fifth Ward seat by Mayor Frank Jager after the death of incumbent Lance Madsen. He was handily defeated by political newcomer Natalie Arroyo in the November 2014 election. His signature issue, at the time, was to attract more cruise ships to Humboldt Bay. His campaign stumbled when he publicly went off on an artist at a local street fair, a lapse of judgment that he later attributed to the consumption of too much prescription medication.

Potential candidates in Eureka’s Fourth Ward race have until Wednesday to file their paperwork with the City Clerk. So far, John Fullerton and Allen McCloskey have qualified for the ballot in that race.

Election Day is November 8.