County Commissioner Vacancy Dist 1 – Bridger
County Commissioner Vacancy – District #1 Bridger
The unfortunate passing of Commissioner ‘Pits’ DeArmond on April 4, 2020, created a vacancy for the Bridger Commissioner District #1. This position was due for election this fall for a full six-year term. The filing deadline for this position was March 9, 2020 to be eligible for the primary election. Because only two candidates filed for office there was no need for a primary election to reduce the number of candidates down to two thus the primary election was cancelled.
All of our county races are nonpartisan and 7-4-2106(3)(b) MCA, outlines the procedures to elect a successor to a non-partisan office for a vacancy occurring on or after March 1 preceding the election. Furthermore, 13-14-118(2) MCA allows for a 10-day period for accepting declarations for nomination of candidacy for a nonpartisan vacancy. On May 5th, 2020 the Carbon County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution declaring this special filing period for accepting nominations shall begin at 8:00a.m., June 15, 2020 and will end at 5:00 p.m. on June 24, 2020.
Any eligible residents of the Bridger Commissioner District #1 can file for this office during the time period identified above. An eligible resident is anyone at least the age of 18 that have lived in the district for at least 2 years immediately preceding the general election.
In summary, if you are at least 18 years of age and have lived in the district for over 2 years you may file for this vacancy from June 15-June 24, 2020. The filing fee is $345 and the paperwork can be picked up at the County Administration building in Red Lodge or found online at the Montana Secretary of State’s webpage.
The Board of County Commissioners could have appointed someone to fill this vacancy (7-4-2106 MCA) but due to the impending election we chose to give the voters the choice in filling this vacancy. The one remaining candidate has been involved in this discussion and also agrees with this decision. Please contact either Scott Blain or Bill Bullock with any questions.
Scott Blain Bill Bullock
406-698-7692 406-425-4517
sblain@carboncomt.com bbullock@carboncomt.com