There's crazy stuff happening in the Third Supervisorial District right up against the 5 o'clock deadline for filing.

1). Lee Ulansey is now out. Repeat: out. Yes, he did pull papers and pay his $750 fee, but he decided not to run after all.

2). Financial planner Bryan Plumley, a member of the Board of Directors of Arcata Main Street, is in.

Just a few moments ago, Ulansey told the Blogthing that he stepped aside to support Plumley, who he called a "true consensus builder."

"We've had enough divisiveness and infighting and everything else," he said. "What we really need is someone that's going to bring us all together"

The Blogthing reached Plumley on his cell phone while he was filing his papers at the Elections Office. He said he'd call back.

And that's not all. There looks to be another major announcement by 5:30 p.m. This is shaping up to be a wild afternoon.

UPDATE: Plumley called back. He's going to stop by the office on the way home.

UPDATE 2, 5 p.m.: "We need to focus on economic development -- to create a pathway for businesses to thrive," said candidate Bryan Plumley in the Journal offices a few minutes ago.

Plumley, 40, a Democrat, is a financial planner with Edward Jones in Arcata. He said that if he had an issue, economic development would be it. But mostly, he said, he was interested less in specific political issues than in competent management. "I think the county needs good leadership," he said. "I'm not coming in with any specific objective for Humboldt County."

He said that he decided to run after consulting with his family and also with Arcata City Councilmember Mark Wheetley, of whom he is a strong supporter. He said he didn't much consider running for the board until he found out for certain that Wheetley would not.

UPDATE 3: See above.