No candidate will run unopposed in this year’s Sammamish City Council election. The filing session concluded at 4:30 p.m. May 15.

Tom Hornish and Arul Menezes filed against incumbent Mayor Tom Vance, position No. 6, but Menezes withdrew to support Hornish. Parks Commission Chair Hank Klein will run against incumbent Ramiro Valderrama-Aramayo, position No. 4.

Incumbent councilmember Nancy Whitten, position No. 2, said earlier this month that she will not seek re-election. Sammamish resident Christie Malchow and former Sammamish councilmember Mark Cross will run for the open seat.

Hornish is the president of the Sammamish Home Owners Inc., a residential group that recently filed suit against King County regarding the East Lake Sammamish Trail in February. He said he’s running against Vance because he aligns with Valderrama-Aramayo on issues like the trail or the initiative and referendum rights citizens showed they wanted in the April 28 special election.

While the trail initially peaked his interest in the government process, it is not why he’s running, Hornish said.

“I always felt I wanted to be in public office,” he said. “I want to ensure citizens have a voice and open communication.”

Hornish has a chemical engineering and law degree from Ohio State University. Between degrees he spent 22 years in the Air Force and served in the Persian Gulf War.

He moved to Sammamish two years ago with his wife and two children.

Klein, who’s been on the parks commission since 2005, has lived in Sammamish with his family since 1988. Running against Valderrama-Aramayo, Klein said he doesn’t have a specific agenda, but hopes to benefit the community as a whole.

“I think I have a more positive energy than Ramiro,” Klein said. “And that’s what we need on the council.”

Klein, who taught elementary school for more than 20 years, is currently an overload teacher of music and physical education, as well as librarian, at Challenger Elementary School in Klahanie.

“While I live in Sammamish, I also consider myself a Klahanie resident because I work there,” he said.

He was also part of the committee that encouraged Sammamish citizens to vote yes on the proposition that supported the Sammamish Community and Aquatic Center, now under construction.

The general election is Nov. 3.