Important races and issues to be decided in November

Readers will find in today’s newspaper our final batch of candidates up for election on November 3.

After the red-hot primary in August, the General Election almost seems anticlimactic, especially in Republican dominated Big Horn County, and indeed, the vast majority of partisan races were already decided in the Primary, leaving a large number of unopposed candidates in the General.

But we urge our readers to take this election seriously and to be sure to vote on November 3. There are several important races to be decided.

For instance, a very interesting race for mayor of Cowley has developed, with KJ Blackburn accepting a write-in nomination to face Steve Winters. The winner will have big shoes to fill in the form of longtime mayor Joel Peterson.

There are also contested town council races in Lovell, Byron and Cowley.

Schools are extremely important in any community, perhaps especially so in small towns, and both districts in North Big Horn County – Districts One and Two – have contested school board races. Meanwhile, the North Big Horn Hospital Board is looking for write-in candidates to fill the seat left by the departure of Todd Simmons.

A rare legislative race has developed in House District 26, with Ralph Nieder-Westermann of Greybull accepting a write-in nomination for the Democratic nomination to oppose Rep. Dalton Banks of Cowley, the Republican nominee.

On the state level, the fireworks of the GOP nomination for Governor in the Primary would seem to have left a straight path to victory for Republican nominee Eric Barlow, but Constitution Party candidate Rebecca Bextel is running an aggressive campaign as the more conservative alternative. That race is quite interesting.

There are also contested races for U.S. Senate, U.S. House (four candidates), Secretary of State (three candidates) and Superintendent of Public Instruction.

And finally, there is Proposition One, which would slash property taxes by 50 percent in the Cowboy State. A tax cut sounds great on the surface, but opponents worry about dramatic effects on local services, from law enforcement and search and rescue to local libraries. And there are already tax relief programs in place.

Prop 1 will be interesting to watch, and we join with many who are concerned about the ramifications of a 50 percent cut. Many local entities are already suffering.

And so, we urge our readers to turn out on November 3, if you haven’t already voted. There are important races and issues to be decided.