Election activity in Kings County officially starts Monday as the nomination period opens for seats on city councils, special districts and school districts. Some 52 local elections will be consolidated with this year's Nov. 4 presidential election. The filing deadline is 5 p.m. on Aug. 8.

Nomination papers for vacancies of the school boards and special districts are available at the Kings County elections office. Nominations for city council positions must be picked up at, then filed with city halls. The filing period would be extended for five days if an incumbent decides not to run.

City councils of all four cities have open seats this year.

In Hanford, seats for District B and C are up for election. Councilwoman Marcie Buford has said she would not run again for the District B seat. District C is currently represented by Councilman Dan Chin, who is expected to seek re-election.

In Lemoore, three at-large seats are up for election. These seats are currently held by Mayor John Murray, Mayor Pro Tem John Grego and Councilman Ed Martin.

In Corcoran, two seats -- currently held by council members Toni Baltierra and Jim Wadsworth -- will be open.

In Avenal, up for grabs are three seats, currently occupied by Mayor Harlin Casida, Mayor Pro Tem Charles Price and Councilman Alfredo Lara.

Persons interested in running for any of the public offices must follow certain procedures. For example, those running for the city council must sign a domicile declaration to prove their residency in the district they are running for. They also must collect 20 signatures of registered voters in their districts.

Following is a list of other public offices and all school and special districts having elections this fall (incumbents listed in parentheses):

County Offices

Tulare County Board of Education: one seat (Katy Rominger)

Kings County Board of Education, Dist. 1 (Mickey Thayer); Dist. 2 (Joe Hammond); Dist 5 (Jim Kilner)

School Districts

Armona Union School District: two seats (Gus Amos, Eric Hodson)

Central Union School District: three seats (L. Yvette Casillas, Patricia Jerrod, Paul Newton)

Corcoran Joint Unified School District: Area 2 (Sid Palmerin); Area 4 (Hugh Bello)

Delta View Joint Union School District: two seats (Shawna Bernardo, Jeannine Brasil); one short-term (Tenessa Popejoy)

Hanford Elementary School District: Area 1 (Tim Revious); Area 3 (Dennis Hill)

Hanford Joint Union High School District: Area 2 (Alfred Benavides); Area 5 (Robert Hill)

Island Union School District: two seats (Kellee Wheatley, Jill Naylon)

Kings River-Hardwick: three seats (Troy Barnhart, Robert Lohse, Adam Medeiros)

Kingsburg Charter Elementary School; two seats (Frank Yanez, Constance Lunde)

Kingsburg Joint Union High School: two seats (Blake Carlson, Rick Jackson)

Kit Carson Union School District: two seats (Andy Atsma, Mike Azevedo)

Lakeside Union School District: three seats (Carol Farris, Judith Horn, Brandon LaMattino)

Laton Unified School District: three seats (Evelia Garcia, Richard Alves, Earl Yecny)

Lemoore Union School District: two seats (Stephen Todd, Shawn Beck)

Lemoore Union High School District; two seats (Kathy Neves, John Giovannetti)

Pioneer Union School District: two seats (Doug Wisecarver, Beverly Rodriguez)

Reef-Sunset Unified School District: three seats (Glenn Tuck, Larry Bunch, Ricardo Vergudo)

Riverdale Unified School District: Area 6 (Jean Errotabere)

Traver Joint Union Elementary School District: one seat (Erlinda Esquibel)

Tulare Joint Union High School District: two seats (Joe Cardoza, Karen Hill)

Waukena Joint Union Elementary School District: two seats (Ray Soto, Joseph Machado)

College of the Sequoias: Ward 5 (John Zumwalt)

State Center Community College: TA 2 (William Smith); TA 3 (Ronald Fever); TA 5 (Philip Forhan); TA 6 (Patrick Patterson)

Hospital Districts

Avenal Hospital District: two seats (Kenneth Brown, Rocky Wallace)

Corcoran Hospital District: Zone 3 (Frank Stiger); Zone 5 (Bruce Salazar)

Irrigation Districts

Stratford Irrigation: two seats (Louise Rodrigues, Scott Stanton)

Stratford Public Utility District: three seats (Gerald Mercer, Ronald Bales, Jason Prior)

Kings River Conservation District: Div 2 (Masaru Yoshimoto); Div 4 (Mark McKean); Div 6 (Ceil Howe Jr.); at-large (Alvin Quist)

Community Service District

Armona Community Service District: three seats (Ed Bitner, Mike Watson, Irene Dillon)

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.