Few have filed for county offices; commission candidate deemed ineligible
Update 5 p.m. March 1.
The filing period for federal, state and county primary elections opened Jan. 13.
Filing is open through March 14 for the June 7 primary for county seats.
On the county ballot this year are the county commission seats for District 1, a six-year term, which is currently held by Joe Briggs; and the unexpired term for the District 3 seat, currently held by Don Ryan for the remaining two years.
Filing for county elections opens Jan. 13
The District 3 seat was vacated by Jane Weber in January 2021 and the other two commissioners selected Ryan to fill the seat until the next election when he has to run to keep the seat.
The filing fee for commission seats is $342.65.
State delays implementation of new election management system
According to state statute, “a person may not be elected as a member of a board of county commissioners unless the person has resided in the county and the district for at least two years immediately preceding the general election,” to run for a county commission seat.
Both Briggs and Ryan have filed for re-election.
Briggs has served on the commission since 2005.
Lori Cox filed to run against Briggs, but officials determined she did not meet the residency requirement.
On Jan. 28, the county attorney’s office notified Cox that she was three week’s shy of meeting the two-year residency requirement under state law.
County Attorney Josh Racki said that his office said if she had additional information they’d review it before making a final determination, but on Feb. 1, Cox posted to her campaign page that she had been determined ineligible and would end her campaign for this election cycle.
“While I am deeply disappointed, this campaign was not about me, but rather about electing a person to help move Cascade County forward. I am so honored by all the support these past five months. I thank you, and am so humbled. Now let’s work even harder to find a strong candidate to run for this district,” Cox wrote.
Cox previously worked at Montana Expo Park when it was managed by a private management company and has been publicly critical of the county’s fairground operation.
With Cox ineligible to run for the seat, Briggs is currently unopposed.
Rae Grulkowski has filed to run for the seat currently held by Ryan.
Grulkowski has been a vocal opponent of the local effort to establish a National Heritage Area in the region.
Here are the current filings for county offices as of Jan. 31.
Commission District 1
Joe Briggs (incumbent)
Commission District 3
Don Ryan (incumbent)
Rae Grulkowski
Justice of the Peace
Dave Phillips (appointed August 2021 to fill vacancy)
Eric Bailey
Clerk and Recorder/Auditor/Surveyor
Rina Fontana Moore (incumbent)
County Attorney
Josh Racki (incumbent)
Public Administrator
Gerald W Boland (incumbent)
Sheriff
Jay Groskreutz
Jesse Slaughter (incumbent)
County Treasurer and Supt of Schools
Diane Heikkila (incumbent)
Cascade County Conservation
Tracy Wendt
Kathie Lahti
Transit District
Ann Marie Meade
Carl J Donovan
William Reese Jr
School Board
Filing for school board seats opened in December and closes March 24 for the May 3 ballot.
Four school board seats on May ballot, filing opens Dec. 9.
There are four seats are up for election:
- Three seats that represent both elementary and secondary districts on the board for three years through May 2025. Anyone interested in these positions must live within the Great Falls Public School District boundary. The positions are currently held by Mark Finnicum, Jeff Gray, and Gordon Johnson.
- One seat, a one-year position to fill out the remainder of Jan Cahill’s term. Nathan Reiff was appointed by the board to fill the vacancy until the next regular election.
Trustees are required to call for an election by Feb. 22 with a resolution stating the date of the election, the purpose of the election, whether the election will be by mail or poll, and the voting locations.
By April 1, the board must pass a resolution stating levy amounts if the board decides to run a levy election. No such decision has been made yet. That’s also the deadline for trustees to declare the election by acclamation and cancel the election if the number of candidates filing is equal to or less than the number of open trustee positions.
So far, Finnicum, Gordon and Reiff have filed to retain their seats.
Board Chair Jeff Gray is not seeking reelection.
Brian Cayko, Scott Jablonski, Rodney Meyers and Paige Turoski have also filed for school board.
