The 2018 general election is peaking and all campaigns are or should be in full swing at this point. The absentee ballots in Yellowstone County will be going out in the mail on Friday, October 12th. Bret Rutherford, Yellowstone County Election Administrator, stated that they receive back about 1/3 of the absentee ballots within 7-10 days. As Yellowstone County residents usually have a pretty high turnout, this year will mark yet another reason to fill out your ballots. With that being said, the following are the responses the Yellowstone County News received from candidates in the general election. All ballots are due in the Yellowstone County Elections Department on or by Election Day which is Tuesday, November 6th. We asked the candidates to answer the following questionnaire regarding local hot topic issues in the area and help us, the readers, decide in voting. You can read their responses in this special issue. Some candidates decided to be short as others decided to add detail. We hope this special edition gives some insight into the candidates who are running in this area.
THESE WERE 6 QUESTIONS POSED TO THE CANDIDATES:
- (1) Please introduce yourself to our readers and why you have chosen to run for office? Please include anything that you have accomplished in the past to help the readers see what you can do for the taxpayers in the future?
- (2) During the 2017 Legislative Session, the Billings Chamber of Commerce initiated a local option tax bill of which the Billings City Council supported while the Yellowstone County Commissioners opposed at the time. The bill did not gain enough support to move forward in the session. It is likely the Chamber will push legislation again in the 2019 Legislative session. Do you support a local option tax and why?
- (3) Do you support public or private funding of the proposed One Big Sky Center? Please explain your thoughts.
- (4) Do you agree with Colin Kaepernick for his right to kneel in protest during the national anthem? As Nike chose to have Colin be the face of their “Just do it” ad campaign recently, do you think it was the right thing to do?
- (5) How are you different from your opponent in this general election?
Check the 10/5/18 print edition of Yellowstone County News for all the candidates’s responses or subscribe here to read online.
