Aldrich files as fourth candidate for Witham’s Baker County Commission seat

Casey Aldrich of Baker City filed Feb. 6 as a candidate for Position 2 on the three-member Baker County Board of Commissioners, becoming the fourth person to enter the race for the part-time seat that Christina Witham will vacate at the end of her term. Witham was elected in November 2022 to a four-year term that continues through the end of 2026, and she is not seeking reelection to Position 2.

Baker City Herald reporting lists the other declared candidates for Position 2 as Peter Hall of Haines, who filed Jan. 27, 2026; Danny Johnson of Halfway, who filed Jan. 30, 2026; and James Marcrum of Baker City, who filed Sept. 15, 2025. Aldrich is noted as a Baker High School graduate in the filing announcement. Position 2 is one of two part-time commissioner seats on the board; the commission also includes one full-time chairman.

Key election dates remain on the calendar: the filing deadline for county offices is March 10, 2026, and the May 19, 2026 primary will decide whether any Position 2 candidate secures a majority. If no candidate receives more than half the votes on May 19, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff on Nov. 10, 2026. Voters also will decide on the May primary ballot whether to change Baker County’s form of government.

The county-level ballot measure up for May consideration would eliminate the chairman-as-chief-administrator model and equalize duties and compensation for all three commissioners, while creating a hired full-time administrator to handle many current chair responsibilities. The current chairman serves as the county’s chief administrator and earns $101,088, a salary the article describes as double that of the two part-time commissioners.

The race for chairman is developing separately from Position 2. Incumbent chairman Shane Alderson filed Sept. 12, 2025 to run for reelection. Bill Harvey, who served as commission chairman from 2015 to 2022, and Whitney Rilee, the victim assistance program director for the district attorney’s office, each filed Jan. 23, 2026 to seek the chair. The same majority-vote rule applies to the chairman race: if no candidate wins a majority on May 19, the top two advance to the Nov. 10 runoff.

Michelle Kaseberg occupies the board’s other seat; she was elected in November 2024 and began her four-year term on Jan. 1, 2025. The Baker County courthouse file photo accompanying the filing announcement is credited to Lisa Britton of the Baker City Herald.