With about a month to go before the March 14 deadline to file as a candidate for countywide office, two seats so far will be contested between candidates; incumbents have filed for the rest, and are thus far unopposed.
Seats up for grabs in this year’s election, held in conjunction with Montana’s primary election on June 7, include a Jefferson County Commission seat representing the county’s south end, the county attorney, the county clerk and recorder, the county sheriff/coroner, the county treasurer, the county superintendent of schools and the county justice of the peace.
According to current Clerk and Recorder Ginger Kunz, who is also the county election administrator, two south-county residents had filed to run for County Commission as of Friday afternoon: Dan Hagerty and Jim Buterbaugh. Candidates running to represent the county’s south end, which includes the communities of Cardwell, Whitehall and Pipestone, must live there, she said, but the election is open to all registered voters in Jefferson County, meaning all Jefferson County voters get to decide who from the south end will serve on the commission.
Hagerty and Buterbaugh are running to fill the seat currently held by Commissioner Leonard Wortman, who is not seeking reelection. Wortman served on the commission from 1993–99, and was appointed back to the body in January 2010 and has been reelected since. County commissioners serve six-year terms.
The race for county sheriff is also contested: Two current officers with the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office—Tom Grimsrud and Chad Cross—are running to take the reins of the office from longtime Sheriff Craig Doolittle, who is not seeking reelection. Sheriffs serve four-year terms.
Incumbents have filed for reelection in the remainder of seats up for election this year, including County Attorney Steve Haddon; Kunz, whose title also includes assessor and surveyor; County Treasurer Terri Kunz; and Justice of the Peace Steve Andersen.
Kunz said that incumbent Superintendent of Schools Sarah Eyer had picked up a form to file for reelection but had not yet filed as of Friday afternoon.
The deadline to file for candidacy in county seats up for election this year is 5 p.m. on March 14. Ballots will be available May 9, Kunz said, and will be mailed to voters May 13.
