Island voters get to decide on one other contested race in the Nov. 8 election: Jake Jacobovitch is challenging Tom Lorentzen for a seat on the three-person cemetery district board.

On Jacobovitch’s part, however, it’s an unintentional challenge. He’d heard that Lorentzen, 83, wasn’t interested in another six-year term on the board, so he called him  to see where he stood.

“He said he’d be more than happy if I ran for the position and that he was only doing it because he was afraid no one else would,” Jacobovitch recalled. But Lorentzen had already filed by then, and Jacobovitch only discovered much later that he hadn’t withdrawn his name.

“I like to give back,” Jacobovitch added when asked why he’s running. “I just know that bringing new energy to the table is always a good thing.”

Lorentzen, for his part, said he opted to remain on the ballot but not to campaign for the post. “I decided that since it was only one meeting a month, that’s something I could still do,” he said, adding, “It allows me once a month to check on my grave site.”

Lorentzen says has been on the cemetery district board for about  20 years. Jacobovitch, a well-known civic player on Vashon, has served terms on both the school board and park district board.