As of Thursday afternoon, one person has filed as a write-in candidate for Position 5 on the Langley City Council.

Since there will be no primary election on Whidbey Island this year, the number of votes cast for write-in candidates will be included in the final certified results of the general election.

Gail Fleming, who is currently the chairperson of Langley’s citizen-led Parks and Open Space Commission, announced her write-in candidacy Thursday for the council position.

“I am passionate about protecting our unique and fragile environment, respecting and including all in our community and governing with vision and transparency,” she wrote in a letter to the editor of the South Whidbey Record. “I’m excited by the recent work of the council in making Langley an official sanctuary city and in its resolutions to address climate change and systemic racism.”

In an interview with The Record, Fleming said she was prompted to declare her candidacy for the position in part because Scott Chaplin, the new mayor of Langley, was chosen for the top job and is no longer running for the council position.

Both Chaplin and Tony Gill had filed for Position 5 on the city council.

Position 5, along with Positions 1 and 2, are also up for election this year.

“It would really be rewarding and fun to work with the new council,” Fleming said.

Voters will be able to include the names of write-in candidates on the general election ballots this year.

Write-in candidates can file up until 18 days before the general election to avoid a filing fee. They also must file with the public disclosure commission.

Michele Reagan, Elections Supervisor for Island County, strongly encouraged people who are thinking of pursuing write-in candidacy to officially file.

“It’s really important if someone is going to run a write-in campaign that they file as a write-in candidate so that we can make sure that any variation of that name is attributed to the right candidate,” she said.

If people do not officially file as a write-in candidate, votes cast for them on the write-in portion of the ballot are put into one big category of uncertified write-ins.

But if somebody does file as a write-in, then any votes that are written in for them are taken out of that uncertified write-in category and tabulated specifically for them.

Reagan explained that the only time that votes for an uncertified write-in candidate are tabulated individually is if there are enough votes to secure the lead of the race.

Write-in candidates will be part of the final certified results of the general election.