A director on the Umatilla Rural Fire Protection District board is hoping to keep his seat after accidentally missing the deadline to get on the ballot.

“I thought I had one more week, but I didn’t,” Robert Holden said.

Former Umatilla city councilor Mark Keith has filed for position #5 on the board, currently held by Holden, and will be the only name on the May 21 ballot. There will be a space to cast a write-in vote, however, and Holden hopes voters will write in “Robert Holden II.”

Holden has served on the board since 2012. Since then the district has passed a bond, purchased new equipment and added staff. He said he joined because he wanted to serve the community. Now he says he wants to serve another term to see current projects through.

“We’re striving to do good things for citizens and I want to continue to do that,” he said.

Retired Umatilla assistant fire chief Rob Tooley wrote an endorsement for Holden, noting that he came onto the board during a time of contention between board members and volunteers and helped those volunteers feel heard and valued.

“Robert Holden II knows what it takes to help keep the Umatilla Rural Fire District Board of Directors moving in the right direction, he supports the volunteers, and he’s supported by the volunteers,” he wrote.

Keith is a former Umatilla city councilor, a paramedic for Morrow County Health District and director of Encore Wellness 4 Life, a Umatilla medical clinic. He said during his time on the city council he helped the fire district in multiple ways, including making sure the city’s out-of-commission fire hydrants were repaired. He said he is running because the board needs a perspective of someone who has served as a firefighter and paramedic in the district before.

“What happens on the front line is not what gets shared in board meetings,” he said.

Other candidates include Darla Huxel for position #4, Fred Sheely and Kelly Payan for position #2 and Kyle Sipe for position #3.