Hyatt bows out of commission race

Whitefish resident Chris Hyatt said Thursday morning he has withdrawn from the race for the open District 1 Flathead County commissioner position.

Hyatt was one of eight Republicans who filed for the two-year commission seat to replace Jim Dupont, who died in March.

“It’s become clear to me I can’t do justice to this full-time position,” Hyatt told the Daily Inter Lake Thursday morning. “I want to be sure the community is best served.”

Hyatt recalled that he and other District 1 candidates had only a few days in which to file because of state laws related to filling vacant commissioner seats. Candidates had just three days in March to file for Dupont’s position.

“We had to make a hasty decision,” he said.

Since then, he evaluated the demands of his work as a business consultant, his obligations to his young family and his obligations to the city of Whitefish — he’s currently a member of the Whitefish City Council — so he realized pursuing the commissioner job wasn’t possible.

Hyatt’s exit reduces the number of GOP candidates to seven: Doug Adams, Rod Bernhardson, Kirk Gentry, M. Glenn Kolodejchuk, Cal Scott, Mike Shepard and Ben Stormes.

District 1 involves the portion of the county north of Kalispell, including Columbia Falls, the Canyon and Whitefish.

Hyatt is the second local candidate to withdraw from consideration for the June 5 primary election.

On Wednesday, Republican Jayson Peters withdrew his candidacy in Senate District 3. Two other Republicans — incumbent Bruce Tutvedt and Rollan Roberts II — are vying in that primary election race.  

The names of Hyatt and Peters still will appear on all ballots used by voters in the primary election because those ballots have been printed, Flathead County Elections Deputy Monica Eisenzimer said.

Any votes cast for either man will be counted and tabulated, she said.

Should either candidate win the Republican primary in his specific race, he would have the option not to file acceptance paperwork with the state Commissioner of Political Practices and then would not advance to the general election, she said.

In that case, since both men are Republicans, in accord with state statute, the Flathead County Republican Central Committee would select a candidate whose name would appear on the general election ballot, according to Terri McCoy, communications director at the Montana Secretary of State’s office.

Reporter Shelley Ridenour may be reached at 758-4439 or sridenour@dailyinterlake.com.