Voters get ready to make choices
The home stretch of the 2014 election cycle starts tomorrow when the first batch of absentee ballots are mailed out to voters wanting to cast their ballots before the Nov. 4 general election.
In Flathead County the ballot is a potpourri of state legislative races, referendums and special levy requests. While several county incumbents are up for re-election, the big contest in the county arena is, of course, the showdown between Republican Phil Mitchell and Democrat Stacey Schnebel for the District 1 commissioner seat currently held by Cal Scott, who lost his re-election bid in the June primary.
There’s been some drama in the commissioner race that started when Mitchell declined to debate Schnebel.
Mitchell claimed Schnebel hadn’t taken a stand on any issues, and that without a baseline of positions a debate would simply be “political theater” that wastes voters’ time.
Schnebel said the idea of a debate is to see how candidates think on their feet and hear candid perspectives on issues, not canned answers to frequently asked questions.
A few days ago the Flathead County Republicans accused Schnebel of “illegal” voting because she continued to be registered in Whitefish and voted in city elections after she had moved to Coram. They’ve asked for a county investigation into Schnebel’s voting irregularity. Schnebel, in turn, called the Republicans’ allegations a “frivolous” tactic and says she’s confident the county attorney won’t find fault with her voting record.
Politics, especially in the weeks leading up to an election, can and most often does take some interesting twists and turns. Today’s Inter Lake features articles about how Mitchell and Schnebel stand on county issues. Take a look, do your homework and stayed tuned.
Voters also should take the time to familiarize themselves with the various ballot measures.
One of the highest-profile referendums is a request to organize a special district to provide ongoing funding for emergency dispatch and communication services for Flathead County. If passed, the measure will assess $25 per home and $50 per commercial unit, up to a maximum of 30 commercial units per business.
The county emergency dispatch referendum should not be confused with a Kalispell city levy that will ask Kalispell voters to approve a mill levy increase to generate $736,000 annually to help fund the city’s ambulance service.
Voters in Kalispell Elementary School District No. 5 will be asked whether or not they favor spending $420,000 to buy 25.4 acres on Airport Road for a future school site.
Most state legislative races in Flathead County are contested, so it behooves voters to study up on candidates in their district. The Inter Lake is publishing stories on all legislative races in the greater Flathead Valley, and they’re posted on our website, too.
So study up. With all this information floating around, there’s no excuse to be uninformed on Election Day.
Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Daily Inter Lake’s editorial board.