Campaign events coming to Havre this week, next

With the June 5 primary elections less than two months away, candidates from across Montana will be coming to the area in the coming weeks to introduce themselves to voters.

People will have a chance to hear from and question several Hill County Democratic candidates at a candidate forum next week, and a congressional and a Public Service Commission candidate will be in Havre later this week.

Andrew Markoff, campaign manager for Democratic U.S. House candidate Kathleen Williams, said Friday that Williams will be in Havre for a public meet and greet Thursday at Triple Dog Brewing Co. from 5 to 7 p.m.

Williams, a former state representative from Bozeman is running against John Heenan, Grant Kier, Jared Pettinato, John Meyer, and former state Sen. Lynda Moss, D-Billings, in the June 5 Democratic primary to be the party’s candidate.

The winner of the primary will face incumbent Greg Gianforte, a Republican, as well as Libertarian Elinor Swanson and Green Party candidate Doug Campbell in November.

Hill County Republican Central Committee Chair Andrew Brekke said Montana Public Service Commission District 1 Republican candidate Randy Pinocci, a former state representative, will be the featured speaker at Friday’s meeting of the North Central Pachyderm Club. The meeting will be at noon in the Vineyard Room of the Duck Inn in Havre

Hill County Democratic Central Committee Chair and state Rep. Jacob Bachmeier, D-Havre, said the Hill County Candidate Forum will be Tuesday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. in Hensler Auditorium in the Applied Technology Center on the Montana State University-Northern campus. The Hill County Democratic Central Committee will hold its regular monthly meeting at 6 p.m. in Hensler immediately before the forum.

Each candidate at the forum will have the chance to speak and then answer questions from members of the audience, Bachmeier said.

Campaign literature and signs will also be available at the forum, he said. The forum will be hosted by the Young Democrats of MSU-Northern, a campus chapter of the Democratic Party that was started last fall, he said.

Local attorney Randy Randolph and Deputy County Attorney Karen Alley, both Democrats running to be the party’s candidate for Hill County Attorney, will take part in the forum, Bachmeier said.

No other candidates have filed in that race.

Hill County Commissioner Mark Peterson and his Democratic primary challenger Dana Kjersem will take part in the forum, Bachmeier said. The winner of the that primary will face Independent Dale Hansonl in the general election.

Candidates unopposed in the primaries will also be at the event.

Bear Paw Development Corp. Executive Director Paul Tuss, the Democrat in the race for state Senate District 14, will speak at the forum, as will Montana Public Service Commission District 1 candidate Doug Kaercher, Bachmeier said.

Senate District 14 extends from the Canadian border north of Chester down to Great Falls to just past the eastern border of Havre. Incumbent Russ Tempel, R-Chester, and Havre business owner and Hill County Republican Central Committee Finance Director Brad Lotton are running in the primary to take on Tuss in the general election.

Bachmeier said Doug Kaercher, the Democrat running in Montana Public Service Commission District 1 will speak at the forum.

Kaercher, a former Hill County Commissioner and the Havre Clerk/Finance Director, is the Democratic candidate in the race for District 1.

The district spans from the North Dakota border west to Toole County and south to Cascade County.

Along with Pinocci, state Rep. Randy Cook, R-Shelby; Mark Wicks of Inverness and Cory McKinney of Great Falls are running in the Republican primary.

Bachmeier, who is also up for re-election in House District 28, will be master of ceremonies at the forum, Bachmeier said he will also likely speak about his time in office and his campaign going forward.

He added that people who want to ask questions do not have to submit them ahead of time, but if they want to make sure their questions are asked they can email them to [email protected].

The forum is free and open to the public, and attendees do not have to be Democrats, Bachmeier said.

“It’s for everyone,” he said.

The most convienent place for people to park is in the south parking lot off 13th Street, Bachmeier said. The Applied Technology Center is located east of the parking lot of College Road next to the Farm Mechanics Building.