The ballot for the Nov. 3 general election is coming into final shape with five candidates confirmed for three Philomath City Council seats, a last-minute addition to the Benton County commissioner race and an unopposed candidate advancing for county sheriff.
All five candidates seeking a City Council seat have now qualified for the ballot — incumbents Jessica Andrade and Richard Saalsaa, along with challengers Candy Garcia, David Low and Amanda Polley.
Philomath does not use wards or districts for council elections — the three seats up this year will go to the top three vote-getters in an at-large race. The seats are currently held by Andrade, Saalsaa and Teresa Nielson, who did not file for reelection.
Andrade, who has served on the council since 2021, works as substitute classified staff for the Philomath School District and Edustaff in the Corvallis School District.
Garcia owns a bakery and catering business, works as a classified substitute for the Philomath School District, and serves on the Philomath Park Advisory Board and the Philomath Public Art Committee.
Low retired after a career in finance and banking and previously served three terms on the council after winning election in 2016, 2018 and 2020; he lost his 2022 reelection bid to Andrade by a single vote.
Polley works as an office specialist in Oregon State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences and chairs the Philomath Inclusivity Committee.
Saalsaa, a retired deputy fire chief who now consults for Priority Dispatch Corp., was appointed to the council in January 2025 to complete a term that expires at the end of this year.
The three seats carry four-year terms beginning Jan. 1 and running through Dec. 31, 2030. The positions are nonpartisan and unpaid.
Nielson explained her decision not to seek reelection
“My husband is retiring … and we are in the process of submitting our application to serve an 18-month mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,” she said. “We hope to leave sometime after the first of January and hope to serve in a humanitarian/service capacity wherever we are needed.”
Nielson said they plan to sell their Philomath home before departing and upon their return will divide their time between Oregon, Idaho and Florida to spend time with children and grandchildren while continuing with service and travel.
County positions
The Benton County commissioner Position 1 race picked up a late addition to the ballot with James Dashiell, a Corvallis graphic designer running as a Pacific Green Party candidate. Dashiell filed his candidacy Aug. 25 — the final day of the filing period.
Dashiell holds a bachelor’s degree in production design from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and has no prior governmental experience.
He joins John Wilson, who won the contested Democratic primary in May over incumbent Pat Malone. No Republican candidates filed for the seat, so the November race will come down to Wilson and Dashiell.
Wilson retired after more than 20 years in social work with experience that includes serving as a children’s services family case manager, a disaster case management supervisor, and a director of disaster preparedness and response. He has served as an Adair Village councilor since 2025 and as a Benton County planning commissioner since 2023, in addition to earlier council and planning roles in Indiana.
Benton County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Scott Bressler remains the only candidate on the ballot for county sheriff. Bressler filed for the May 19 primary but, as the lone candidate, advanced directly to the November general election without a primary contest.
Current Sheriff Jef Van Arsdall’s term expires at the end of 2026.
According to Benton County Records and Elections, the last day to register to vote or change party affiliation is Oct. 13. Local ballots will be mailed beginning Oct. 14.
