Troy mayor resolves study commission confusion

Bob Henline

The Western News

What if you hold an election and nobody runs for office?

Troy residents are facing that reality with the local government study commission. The commission, a concept unique to Montana, is a measure placed on the ballot every 10 years that allows voters to decide if they want a commission to review their municipality’s form of government and suggest changes for improvement.

Voters in Troy narrowly approved the creation of a commission in June’s primary. That decision triggered the election of the commissioners on November’s ballot. However, not a single candidate filed before the July deadline.

The confusion increased as the September write-in filing deadline also passed without a single candidate declaring interest in the position. With no declared candidates, Troy Mayor Darren Coldwell began the process of finding people to appoint to the commission in mid-October.

“I was told that we needed to fill that commission, that I needed to appoint people,” Coldwell said. “The voters chose it. It’s the law.”

After speaking with a number of residents, Coldwell asked Craig Pierce, Matthew Bowers and Ron Higgins to serve on the commission. All three accepted.

In the election, however, several names were written on ballots. The three top write-in vote recipients were Tony Brown with 12 votes, Fran McCully with 10, and Phil Fisher with 6.

Montana code requires write-in candidates to file a declaration of intent, but it provides exceptions in cases where no candidate has filed a letter of intent and also when “a person’s name is written on the ballot.” Under those statutory exemptions, Lincoln County Clerk/Recorder Tammy Lauer certified Brown, McCully and Fisher as victors in the election, even though none of them filed a declaration of intent.

After speaking with Leigh Riggleman, Lincoln County’s assistant election administrator, as well as experts from Montana State University and a number of concerned citizens, Coldwell reversed his decision and asked Brown, McCully and Fisher if they would be willing to serve on the commission. All three accepted and, alongside ex-officio commission member Kimberly Rowse, will serve on the commission.

Coldwell said he reversed his decision because “It was the right thing to do, and it’s probably the law.”

For the Lincoln County study commission, 13 candidates filed for five available slots. Those commissioners were elected during the Nov. 4 primary.