Longtime Diking District 1 Commissioner Ray Gabelein will have an opponent for his board seat in the upcoming February election.

Thomas Kraft, a Seattle resident, has filed as a candidate for the position.

Kraft owns property at Sunlight Beach and is one of the property owners who is currently suing the diking district in Island County Superior Court over assessments that will help pay for the operation of the district and a controversial $430,000 pump that was installed in December 2008.

Gabelein is one of two board members who supported the pump project and the assessments of property owners within the district, which spans 743 acres and includes the neighborhoods of Sunlight Beach, Olympic View and Sun Vista and Useless Bay Golf & Country Club.

The election is planned for Feb. 7.