Helen Dee Cragun, Billy Costello & Diane Pfaeffle have all filed for Deer Park City Council positions. Caleb Stapp will not be running for reelection. Other candidates have until Friday to register for the election.

Election season in Deer Park has started out quickly. Billy Costello, Diane Pfaeffle, and Helen Dee Cragun have currently registered for different positions on the Deer Park City Council positions. Worth noting is that Costello and Pfaeffle live directly across the street from each other. Deer Park does not currently use districting, which would restrict them from running for different City Council positions; however, recent past candidates for election within the same neighborhood have been hotly debated due to Upchurch living in the same area as Stapp. Deer Park is only about seven square miles, making the whole city smaller than most election districts.

Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Billy Costello & Diane Pfaeffle live near the golf course, when in fact they live 2.3 miles from the golf course.

For more election information visit: DPGazette.com/election2023

Helen Dee Cragun Position #2
Currently the longest-term incumbent on the city council, Cragun has filed for reelection. Recently she has attended the last two city council meetings in person, prior to that, she attended via the phone for about seven months due to health reasons. Cragun is a lifelong resident of Deer Park and is currently retired.

Cragun On The Record:

• Voted against funding a Splash Pad from city revenue surplus. 
• Voted against email addresses for city council members.
• Voted against live streaming of city council meetings.
• Stated favoring doing nothing to preserve the city hall building.
• Stated favoring maintaining prohibiting ownership of chickens inside Deer Park City limits.
• Stated favoring maintaining the contract with Spokane County Sheriff.

You can read more about Council Member Cragun at: DPGazette.com/hdcragun

Billy Costello Position #4
Council Member Caleb Stapp, that currently holds Position #4, announced in a Letter To The Editor that he would not be running for reelection: DPGazette.com/ozirg

Costello currently owns the State Farm franchise in Deer Park. He also is the President of the Deer Park Chamber of Commerce Board. However, if elected, he would be required to step down from the board because the City of Deer Park contracts with the Chamber of Commerce for services related to tourism and relocation.

Costello previously ran for election against Council Member Jason Upchurch in 2021; Upchurch won the election. During that campaign, Costello was not eligible for the position due to living in Deer Park for less than a year; however, he continued to run his campaign. See our article “A Ballot Question For City Council” at: DPGazette.com/n90jn. One of the debates between Jason Upchurch and Billy Costello is also available on our YouTube Channel at: https://youtu.be/ykx0ylSRHuM

You can read more about Billy Costello at: DPGazette.com/bcostello

Diane Pfaeffle Position #5
City Council Position #5 is currently held by Naomi Diaz, who was appointed when former Council Member Ron Scholz resigned due to relocation outside of the state. 

You can read more about Diane Pfaeffle at: DPGazette.com/dpfaeffle

Sources:

• Washington Secretary of State – File for Office DPGazette.com/candidatefiling