Candidate filing period now open

Yesterday marked the official beginning of the 2015 municipal election season, as the Lincoln County Clerk and Recorder’s Office began accepting candidate filings for municipal offices. The filing period closes July 2 at 5 p.m.

This year, candidates for two city council seats in Eureka, two in Troy and four in Libby will be on the ballot for voters to decide.

In Eureka, the seats currently occupied by Ron McDole and Rosalie Adauto are up for grabs. Troy voters will be voting on the seats now held by Joe Arts and Crystal Denton. Libby’s election will be more complicated, as voters will be selecting three candidates to fill the traditional four-year terms now held by Bill Bischoff, Peggy Williams and Allen Olsen. Libby voters will also need to select an additional council member to complete the two years remaining on the term of Robin Benson, who resigned from the council last year after her election to the position of Lincoln County clerk and recorder.

University of Montana professor of political science Jeffrey Greene said it’s ironic that municipal elections have much lower turnout rates than presidential, and even off-presidential year, national elections.

“If you think about it, the policies that affect you and I every day are made in the city councils,” he said. “But turnout rates in those elections are historically low.”

In Libby’s 2013 municipal election, just 476 ballots were cast in the mayor’s race. It’s hard to pinpoint the exact number of ballots cast in the city council races, as voters could choose up to three candidates.

Robin Benson was the top candidate, receiving 344 votes. She was followed closely by Brent Teske with 310 votes and Barb Desch with 253. Vicky Lawrence, Michael Shock, Joanne Woods Newman and Arlen Magill rounded out the race with vote counts ranging from 248 to 138.

In Troy, four candidates vied for two open council seats, with Dallas Carr and Kimberly Rowse winning election with 205 and 148 votes, respectively. Phillip Fisher and Donna Lee Rugani were the other two candidates. A total of 324 ballots were cast in the mayor’s race.

Eureka’s voter pool was even smaller than Troy’s, with a total of 148 ballots cast in the mayoral election. Jennifer Hannay, the only candidate on the ballot, received 134 votes, with write-in William Savage securing a seat with 55 votes. Wesley Loughman was also a write-in candidate for Eureka City Council.

If necessary, a primary election will be held Sept. 15, with the general election scheduled for Nov. 3. 

Libby’s ballot will look slightly different from the other cities and towns, as there are three four-year terms and one two-year term to fill. Voters will choose three candidates from the pool of four-year candidates, and one from the list of those seeking the two-year term.

Libby City Councilwoman Dejon Raines, although not officially filed, is the only person who has openly declared candidacy. Raines was appointed to the council in January to fill the spot left by Benson’s resignation until this year’s election.

There were several candidates who expressed an interest in replacing Benson on the council in January, including former candidate Arlen Magill, as well as Bill Cunnane and Brian Zimmerman. As of press time, however, none of them had filed or even openly expressed their decision to seek election.

Unless something dramatic happens, this election will again be decided by just a handful of votes. Greene said local election turnout rates are usually only high when there is a big issue facing the municipality.

“Even though Montana’s turnout is generally better than most,” he said, “unless there is something very controversial going on, expect the turnout to be very low.”