News to disappoint Nan Fans: Henriksen not running

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Sorry, Nan Fans: Nan Henriksen has decided not to run for Clark County Councilor Tom Mielke’s seat after all.

Late last year, Henriksen, 74, briefly flirted with the idea of running in rural District 4 as a no-party candidate. And it seemed she was a strong contender. Her achievements include being Clark County’s First Citizen, chair of the Board of Freeholders that developed the Home Rule Charter and first woman elected mayor of Camas

But Henriksen said she consulted with the Clark County Democrats about supporting her as a non-partisan, well-known candidate, but “that didn’t work out.” Democrat Roman Battan, a Camas business owner, is running in the east county district.

Henriksen isn’t planning to stay silent during this campaign, however. She’s throwing her support behind Jennifer McDaniel, a Republican and Washougal City Councilor, who Henriksen called “a moderately conservative Republican who can win.”

“I decided the odds were better if I worked hard to help Jennifer get elected in this district,” Henriksen said.

Republican Eileen Quiring, a current county planning commissioner, has also announced her candidacy for the conservative-leaning district, which includes Camas, Washougal, Battle Ground and all of rural east Clark County. Mielke announced his retirement at Tuesday’s council meeting.