Krueger files for re-election

Flathead County District 3 Commissioner Gary Krueger has filed for re-election. He’s the only member of the three-member commission whose term expires at this year.

“I like to solve problems,” Krueger said, “I like to help people ... and that’s why I chose to run for another term.”

He sees himself and the other commissioners as facing a vital question: “How do you pay for something without burdening the property taxpayer any more than necessary?”

Krueger voiced confidence that he and his fellow commissioners had met this challenge. In recent years, he noted, the county had used payment-in-lieu-of-taxes funds, provided by the federal government as compensation for the nontaxable lands it owns, for improvements such as the county’s new South Campus Building and relocating the county attorney’s office.

If re-elected, Krueger predicts the need for a new jail in Flathead County “will be one of the top priorities” for him and the other commissioners. But in addition to building a new facility, Krueger said that “we have to bring all the stakeholders together and figure out how to have less people in our jail.”

A Republican, Krueger faces Gerald “Jay” Scott, Randy Brodehl and Ronalee Skees in the race for the seat.

In other election filings, Polson resident Steve York has entered the race to represent Montana’s House District 93.

“I care deeply about this state,” he told the Daily Inter Lake. A Democrat who’s semi-retired after working in education for three decades, York voiced concern with partisanship and divisiveness in today’s politics, and said that he decided to “throw my hat in the ring to bring a more positive perspective to the whole approach.”

York, 62, identified public education as one of his top priorities. In last November’s special session, Montana lawmakers eliminated the state’s school district and countywide school transportation block grants.

“A lot of that burden came back to the local taxpayer, and I think we need to find the revenue for the state [to] live up to its side of the education funding equation,” York said.

His other priorities include supporting senior citizens and the agriculture and outdoor tourism sectors.

No one else has filed for the race yet. House District 93’s seat is currently held by Rep. John Fleming, D-St. Ignatius. Fleming said he is not running for re-election. “I think we think along the same lines quite often,” York said, describing himself as “a good option to succeed John.”

Reporter Patrick Reilly can be reached at preilly@dailyinterlake.com, or at 758-4407.