Four advance in District Court races

Robert Allison and Daniel Wilson will square off in November for a Flathead District Court judge position.

Allison and Wilson were the top vote-getters in a three-way primary contest for the judicial seat being vacated by Judge Kitty Curtis.

Allison received 45 percent and Wilson 35 percent while Bruce Fredrickson received nearly 20 percent in the nonpartisan race.

Allison, 62, is a fourth-generation Flathead County resident who has been practicing law in the valley for 37 years. He said his heritage gives him a historical perspective others don’t have.

He raised more than $8,300 as of May 25, by which point he had spent roughly $5,500. Of his total funds, Allison personally contributed roughly $5,500.

Wilson, 48, is a justice of the peace in Flathead Justice Court. He has previously been  a deputy county attorney in Flathead, Cascade and Blaine counties.

He raised almost $22,000 as of May 24, by which point he had spent more than $19,500. More than $20,000 of that money came in the form of two loans from himself to his campaign.

Fredrickson, 57, raised more than $10,000 as of May 23 and had spent almost $9,000. More than $8,600 of that money came in the form of seven loans from himself to his campaign.

In a separate judicial contest, Heidi Ulbricht and Vanessa Ceravolo automatically progressed past the primary for the district judge seat being vacated by Judge Stewart Stadler.

Ulbricht received 67 of the vote and Ceravolo 33 percent. Since they were the only two candidates, they both advance to the general election.

Ulbricht, 48, is the current Kalispell municipal judge, a position she has held for 18 years. She began her legal career as a clerk for a district judge in Idaho, and has had her sights on a district judge position ever since.

She raised more than $15,000 as of May 23, of which she had spent about $9,600. Ulbricht contributed more than $12,000 to her own cause.

Ceravolo, 54, is a Kalispell attorney who has been practicing in town for 20 years. The vast majority of her caseload involves civil and family law.

She raised one third of what Ulbright did, bringing in roughly $5,500 as of May 24, of which she had spent $4,400. Ceravolo did not contribute any of her own money to her campaign.

District Judge Ted Lympus is running for re-election unopposed.

Lympus, 69, has held the position since being elected for the first time in 1992. Prior to that he was the Flathead County attorney for 14 years.