While the spotlight has been trained on the Nov. 8 election results nationally, an interesting scenario unfolded at the Gallatin County level. Two Democrats unseated Republican incumbents to take the county attorney and superintendent of schools races and another Democrat beat out the Republican candidate to take the retiring County Commissioner Joe Skinner’s seat.
A little background is in order.
Bozeman has long been home to a plurality of Gallatin County residents. But rural interests have seemed to hold sway over county politics. Those rural interests — including staunch resistance to land-use regulation — tended to elect Republicans to the three county commission seats. With the election of Jennifer Boyer, there will be three Democrats on the commission. And those right-leaning rural politics have historically put mostly GOP candidates in other county offices as well.
But this time, Democrat Audrey Cromwell edged out long-time County Attorney Marty Lambert, a Republican, and Democrat John Nielson topped GOP incumbent Superintendent of Schools Matthew Henry. A notable exception to this trend is the county treasurer seat ,where Republican Maureen Horton edged out Democrat Charli Heavrin.
What does it all mean? Maybe little. This year’s election results may just be a one-time anomaly pulled off by adept candidates who ran well-oiled campaigns. Or it could represent the beginnings of a shift in the center of gravity in county politics.
Bozeman has been among the fastest growing cities in Montana for some time. In the 2020 Census, Gallatin County passed Missoula County to become the state’s second largest behind Yellowstone County. Most of that growth seems to be happening in the Four Corners-Belgrade-Bozeman triangle as evidenced by increased traffic and soaring housing prices.
Do these newcomers favor more rural land-use planning in the face of sprawling development, more victim-oriented prosecution in the courts, more left-leaning leadership in schools? And did they express these tendencies in their county votes? Could be, but it’s a little too early to tell.
At least this time around, though, it does seem apparent county politics took a measurable shift to the left. And it will be interesting to see what unfolds in the elections to come.
This editorial solely represents the opinion of the Chronicle Editorial Board. The board consists of the managing editor, the publisher and several community members. The community members are non-journalists who provide input and help shape the board's opinions.
The board does not represent the views of the newsroom, and its opinions have no influence over the Chronicle's news coverage. To submit feedback on this editorial, email citydesk@dailychronicle.com.
Editorial Board
Mark Dobie, publisher
Jason Bacaj, managing editor
Richard Broome, community member
Renee Gavin, community member
Charles Rinker, community member
Will Swearingen, community member
Angie Wasia, community member
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