Commissioner race tops the local ballot
Mineral County has three county commissioners each elected to serve a 6-year term. Every two years, its residents vote for retaining the current commissioner (if the commissioner wants to remain) or a changing of the guard.
Ballots must be postmarked by June 2. Questions will be answered at the Mineral County Clerk and Recorder Office 406-822-3520. The Mineral County Courthouse is currently closed due to COVID 19 restrictions so your phone message will be returned within 24 hours.
2020 has Duane Simons (incumbent) and Peggy Stevens both as Republican candidates. They were asked a few questions about the position.
DUANE SIMONS
Why are you running?
Well I have 12 years invested and I’ve learned an awful lot over that time. You learn more every day and even though I’m not there every day, I still learn by talking with folks on the phone or visiting with them on the street. There is still a lot to be accomplished in MC and I’m not done yet.
What do you bring to the position?
Knowledge. Understanding where we are and where we came from. Knowing our history is very important, I believe.
What obstacles do you think you will encounter?
Lack of money. Lack of people as we have a small workforce. It’s a big county but about 90% is federally or state owned which is always a hurdle. Privately owned land is a premium. There’s not a lot of jobs outside the timber industry. We’ve made headway with recreation and tourism but until the forests are opened up again, we are going to continue to struggle. We need to sell enough timber to live off the timber receipts and we have to manage the forests or they’re going to burn up. And we are seeing that.
What would you do differently?
I’m open to looking at new ideas as someone might have a better idea that we hadn’t thought about. Having home-based computer business is still something that I feel we could build upon. If they feel I’ve been doing a good job then I’d appreciate everyone’s vote.
PEGGY STEVENS
Why are you running?
Mineral County is special to me. My husband, Charlie, and I have lived
here for nearly 50 years. We raised our three daughters here and ran two successful businesses. I considered running for commissioner for awhile and I finally decided I still had a lot more to give to my community.
What do you bring to the position?
As I had mentioned before my husband and I are longtime residents, raised our family here, and ran two successful businesses - the HillTop Motel and Superior Color and Lumber. In 1990 I went back to school where I received a
Bachelors of Science degree in nursing at the Montana State a University. I served as the director of the Mineral County Health Department for 21 years where I managed grants, budgets, and personnel as well as performing public health duties. Over the years I have been involved in my community and schools too. I coached junior high and high school volleyball for Superior School where we won a state championship in 1993.
What obstacles do you think you will encounter?
Mineral County has a lot of needs and little money to address those needs. Sometimes we need to be creative and think outside the box to solve these problems. Bringing our local partners and community members together to find solutions would be an important process to help with this.
What would you do differently?
I would focus on building our infrastructure especially for supporting our young families. Young families are the building blocks of our communities.