County treasurer race now contested; third sheriff candidate filing Thursday

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The county treasurer’s office race is now contested.

Diane Heikkila filed as a Republican on Wednesday.

She’s challenging incumbent Jamie Bailey.

Seven races are on the November ballot for Cascade County positions: clerk and recorder, treasurer, sheriff, county attorney, justice of the peace, public administrator and commissioner for District 3.

One week left to file in county election, no new candidates have filed

The filing deadline for county elections is March 12.

Few candidates have filed so far for county elections

George Kynett, a Great Falls native, is expected to file for sheriff Thursday morning.

He has served in law enforcement for over 28 years at the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office in both full-time and part-time capacities. Kynett is currently a compliance officer at the Great Falls Pre-Release Center and is a 2007 graduate of the Basic Detention course at the Montana Law Enforcement Academy.

Bob Edwards, current sheriff, is scheduled to make an announcement Saturday about his election plans.

Bob Rosipal and Jesse Slaughter have filed for sheriff.

Rosipal files to run for Cascade County sheriff 

Rosipal has announced his undersheriff, if elected, would be Dan O’Fallon and his campaign treasurer is Eric Bailey.

Slaughter’s campaign treasurer is Bob Jones. Jones is a former City Commissioner and chief of the Great Falls Police Department.

GFPD officer running for sheriff

So far, no one has filed to challenge Jane Weber for the District 3 commission seat.

Some residents have been into the elections office picking up paperwork and asking queastions about filing. Dominick Snell has posted a Go Fund Me to raise money to cover the filing fee. As of 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, the campaign has raised $130.

[Cascade County Commission Districts | Cascade County Commission Districts City Area]

Josh Racki is also running unopposed so far for county attorney, a position he was appointed to last year after John Parker was appointed as a district judge.

Rina Fontana Moore has filed for reelection as the clerk and recorder.

Gerald Boland has filed for reelection as public administrator.

Mary Jolley and Steve Fagenstrom have filed for reelection for justice of the peace.

The filing fee for county offices is half of one percent of the salary for the position. For the county commission seat that’s $318, for the sheriff’s race it’s $392.57, according to the elections office.

There are approximately 47,000 voters in Cascade County, according to the elections office.

The qualifications for most of these officers are candidates must live in Cascade County, be registered voters in the county and be 18 or older. For the commission seat, candidates must live in District 3. For the county attorney, a candidate for the position in counties with more than 30,000 people must have resided in the state for the two years immediately before taking office and have been admitted to the practice of law for at least five years before the date of election or appointment, according to state law.