Commissioner nominees picked
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
August 20, 2008
The Lincoln County Republican Party central committee is nominating Tony Berget, Jerry Okonski and Alvin Benitz as candidates to replace Lincoln County Commissioner Rita Windom, who earlier this month announced her resignation from office effective Sept. 30.
The committee’s recommendation will be passed on to county commissioners Marianne Roose and John Konzen for a decision. Under state law, the committee must submit three names, with Roose and Konzen to select one of the three to serve the remainder of Windom’s term, which expires at the end of this year.
If they are unable to make a selection from the list, another three candidates are to be picked by the central committee.
Windom was elected to a six-year term in 1996 and again in 2002.
Berget and Okonski were the top two vote-getters in the Republican commissioner primary in June. Berget drew 765 votes to Okonski’s 723 in a six-way race. Because no candidates from any other parties filed for commissioner, Berget will be the only name on the November ballot.
However, Okonski told the central committee he plans to file as an independent write-in candidate, said Benitz, who serves as the committee’s vice chairman. State law precludes Okonski from conducting the write-in campaign as a Republican, Benitz noted.
Berget has served as Libby mayor since 1997. If appointed or elected to the commissioner’s office, he will be required to step down as mayor.
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Editor’s Note: See the August 18, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, on Monday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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