Reece Rose's campaign for Island County commissioner is really cooking.

The Republican challenger in the race won the Bayview Senior Center's contest for best chili Saturday.

Rose, one of four candidates in the District 1 commissioner's race, won first place in the competition with her “Kitchen Sink Chili.”

The contest drew a dozen professional and amateur cooks, and the judges included a "certified chili taste tester." Rose said the taste tester returned for another two servings of her chili after the close of the competition.

The chili cook-off is a fundraiser for the senior center's Meals on Wheels program. With her first-place win, Rose was awarded a large wooden spoon, two gift certificates from Lowe’s and a 5-ounce bottle of Dave's Gourmet “Insanity” sauce.

Rose is challenging incumbent Republican Phil Bakke for the commissioner's seat. Democrat Helen Price Johnson and non-party candidate Curt Gordon are also seeking the post, and the top two candidates in the four-way race will advance from August's primary to the general election in November.

Rose also announced this weekend she has accepted an invitation to appear at the candidates forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters of South Whidbey Island on Thursday, July 24.

The program will be moderated by Barbara Seitle, president of the League of Women Voters of Washington, and will be held in the Fireside Room at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland.

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