The Aug. 16 primary will be busier than first thought for Kirkland voters. For the first time in at least a decade there will be two run-off elections, as the race for Kirkland Council Position No. 2 will join Position No. 6.

The addition of the second run-off is due to former council candidate Chuck Hinson being unable to withdrawal before the deadline.

“At the time of my decision to withdraw I was on vacation,” said Hinson, who will be on the ballot against incumbent Bob Sternoff and Kingsgate resident Jason Gardiner. “I made email and voice contact with King County Elections on June 14-16. I was informed on June 16 that my request to withdraw was not recognized, as I had not completed, or certified, the necessary King County Elections form for this purpose.”

King County Elections spokesperson Kim Van Ekstrom said the Elections Commission needs that deadline date to stay firm.

“Once that deadline hits it defines the primary,” said Ekstrom. “We need to have time to layout the ballot and create the voters’ pamphlet. We have to get those pamphlets out to our military personnel and people overseas. We have to make sure we meet all of our legal commitments.”

Despite the fact that Hinson said he “will not actively campaign for the office,” he chose not to submit a Voters’ Guide statement.

“He could have submitted a statement saying he is not running, to be put in the voters’ pamphlet, but he chose not to,” said Ekstrom.

Hinson said he did not submit a statement to the King County Elections for the guide because he was not running for the office. But Hinson is trying to take responsibility for his mistake.

“I went so far as to state that if this caused the City of Kirkland any monetary damages I would be willing to reimburse the city for my mistake,” said Hinson, a Norkirk neighborhood resident.

But Ekstrom said it is unlikely the addition of a second run-off, in a primary that will already be held, would not add any sizable cost.

“The difference of one additional run-off will probably not trip it into a longer ballot,” said Ekstrom. “It is a little more ink and more to count, but there isn’t much of an overall cost increase.”

Regardless of the cost to the county, the run-off will make the election season a little longer for the other two candidates for Position No. 2.

But Gardiner and Sternoff have not yet raised any money, according to the Public Disclosure Commission.

The top two candidates will move on to the general election in November. Although very unlikely, there is an outside chance that Hinson could still be one of those candidates to move on to the general election because his name is still on the ballot.

“This is highly unlikely, however I would have to carefully consider the signal such a vote might send,” said Hinson. “My family and professional career consumes most of my free time, and I do not want to take on this responsibility, unless I can give it the time and dedication it requires.”

This will be only the fourth time in the past decade that a race for Kirkland City Council positions will need a run-off election. Anyone who has filed but not campaigned has not come close to advancing in the past decade.

The last time there was a run-off was in 2009, when current Councilwoman Amy Walen ran against Karen Tennyson and Matt Gregory. The run-off election garnered a total of 7,300 votes with Walen and Tennyson advancing to the general election where the two candidates split nearly 12,000 votes.

In 2003, current Councilwoman Jessica Greenway ran against Jeff Clark and Travis Bond for Position No. 4 during a run-off election that saw nearly 6,000 votes cast.

During both run-off elections the top vote getter had just over 3,000, with second placing taking between 2,300-2,460 votes.

The three candidates for Position No. 6 will all be actively campaigning this year, including incumbent Councilman Dave Asher and challengers Martin Morgan and Jim Hart. Asher has raised $11,739 so far, according to PDC forms. Neither Hart nor Morgan have filed any paperwork with the PDC.

The general election race between incumbent Jessica Greenway and Kingsgate resident and former State Rep. Toby Nixon for Position No. 4 is heating up. The two candidates have raised a total of $30,000 already.