Candidate forum will be held Tuesday

The Libby Area Chamber of Commerce will host its second candidate forum at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the Maki Theater. Chamber Administrative Assistant Pam Peppenger said every candidate running for election in Lincoln County has been invited.

There are several contested races leading up to the Nov. 4 elections. On the county level, Mark Peck and Russ Bache, two Libby natives with military backgrounds, will compete for county commissioner. Presiding commissioner Tony Berget was eliminated in the June primary election. Peck received 55 percent of the primary election vote while Bache received 24 percent.

After the primary election eliminated sheriff’s office detective Duane Rhodes, the race for sheriff looked like a two-man race. But write-in candidate Darren Short will join incumbent Roby Bowe and challenger Bill Clark on Tuesday. Short filed late after Rhodes, his friend, was eliminated. Short works for the Libby Police Department and is active with David Thompson Search and Rescue.

Clark has cast himself as a constitutional sheriff candidate concerned with heavily armed, encroaching federal agencies. He does not acknowledge the Supremacy Clause, which he says flies in the face of everything limited government stands for. Clark served as chief of police in Newport, Wash., from 1998-2003 and possesses 28 years of law enforcement experience.

Bowe is seeking a second term. He has worked in law enforcement for 28 years, including 24 years with the Sheriff’s Office. Bowe received 43 percent of the primary election vote, while Clark received 36 percent.

Two incumbents are running for one justice-of-the-peace position. County commissioners decided to eliminate the Eureka annex in a cost saving measure, and now Eureka Justice of the Peace Stormy Langston will square off with Libby Justice of the Peace Jay Sheffield. The winner will assume the role of Lincoln County justice of the peace.

June results indicated an extremely close race when Langston edged Sheffield by 56 votes. Voter turnout will be particularly influential in this race. Langston won Eureka-area votes by a landslide while Sheffield handily won Libby.

Incumbent Tammy Lauer opposes challenger Robin Benson for the clerk and recorder position. Primary election results indicated a fair lead for Lauer; she received 57 percent of the vote compared to 43 percent for Benson.

Peppenger said formal invitations have also been sent to state house and senate candidates. In Senate District 1 Democrat Terence Gill opposes Republican incumbent Chas Vincent. Republican incumbent Jerry Bennet faces Democrat Donald Coats in House District 1 ,and Republican incumbent Mike Cuffe faces Democrat Steven Benson in House District 2.

Anyone with a question for a candidate is encouraged to submit their inquiry to: executivedirector@libbychamber.org.