139 candidates file for office on 1st day for filing in Montana

Source: The Montana Standard, ButteJan.迷你倉 10--HELENA -- Montanans seeking election as state legislator or district judge or U.S. representative signed up Thursday to become candidates, on the first day of filing at the Capitol."Candidates are running right out of the gate, and if the energy lasts all season, it's going to be an exciting election year," said Secretary of State Linda McCulloch, whose office processes the filing fees and paperwork for candidates.McCulloch said 139 people filed to run for office Thursday, and 132 of those filed for the state Legislature. The filing period continues through 5 p.m. on March 10.The first day of filing had its usual trappings: Dueling Capitol press conferences by Democrats and Republicans touting their field of legislative candidates, and McCulloch holding down the front desk at her office with plates of cookies with red, white and blue frosting.Her staff even came up with a spare pair of reading glasses so Rep. Tom Jacobson, D-Great Falls, could read the form he had to fill out.Only one person filed Thursday to run for a statewide office: Republican Corey Stapleton, who's running for the U.S. House."I think there's so little time between now and the time that people start voting," he said. "It's time to get moving and time to start offering different ideas and listening to all the ideas from the people."Stapleton, a former state senator from Billings, is one of at least four Republicans vying for Montana's open U.S. House seat.Five people also filed to run for state district judgeships, and Republican Derek Skees of Whitefish filed to run for the open seat in Public Service Commission District 5, which covers six counties in northwestern Montana.Legislative candidates, however, dominated the filing traffic on Thursday.The first person to file on Thursday was Mary Ann Dunwell, a Democrat running for House District 84 in Helena.Dunwell said she arrived at McCulloch's office at 7:30 a.m., because she wanted to be the first candidate to file, and to do it in person. Candidates havself storage the option of filing online."I just wanted to file traditionally, and as soon as possible," she said.Right behind her, and the second candidate to file in person, was Republican Don Roberts, who's running in Senate District 27 in Billings.More than 50 Republican legislators and legislative candidates also gathered in the Capitol rotunda Thursday, saying they are excited to kick off the campaign season and maintain their majorities at the Legislature.Rep. Austin Knudsen, R-Culbertson, said Republicans offer Montana voters a clear choice between "failed liberal policies ... that increase taxes and government" and conservative policies that will boost traditional industries like oil, coal and timber."Do you want a policy of increased regulation destroying our job-creating industries?" he asked. "I'm talking about timber. I'm talking about oil. I'm talking about gas. I'm talking about coal."Yet the liberal agenda we've seen time and time again aims at these industries and tries to kill them. We need mining and drilling and logging and construction jobs that provide an honest day's pay for an honest day's work."Republicans hold a 61-39 majority in the state House and a 29-21 edge in the state Senate.At the Democrats' Capitol news conference, they presented what they called a diverse array of candidates who will support "good, sound fiscal management" of the state budget and programs and ideas that will serve communities across the state."I'm not going to make a prediction on any exact numbers we'll put up, but certainly majorities in either chamber are within our reach," said Sen. Christine Kaufmann, D-Helena.Kaufmann said Republicans voted to exclude many Montanans from health coverage when they rejected Medicaid expansion last year, and that Democrats will be "working to bring those dollars home to our neighbors and our community healthcare facilities."Copyright: ___ (c)2014 The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont.) Visit The Montana Standard (Butte, Mont.) at .mtstandard.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷利倉