Following a crowded and contentious primary, Park County could be on track for a much quieter general election.

Since Aug. 5, local residents have been able to declare their candidacies for roughly 60 nonpartisan, unpaid positions on school boards and other special districts across Park County. But in contrast to the bustling primary season, the special district seats have drawn relatively few contenders and feature only a few contested races heading into the final day of the filing period.

Residents have until 5 p.m. Monday to formally declare their candidacies. Voters will then make their picks during the Nov. 3 general election.

Northwest College

Three seats on the Northwest College Board of Trustees are up for election this year.

Current trustees Denise Laursen and R. J. Kost have both filed for reelection to a pair of Powell area seats on the board. It would potentially be a second elected position for Kost, as he’s poised to also serve in the Wyoming Senate following a win in last week’s Republican primary.

During Kost’s previous term in Senate District 19, he concurrently served on the Powell hospital board, which drew criticism from the Park County Republican Party.

As for Friday, no one had filed for the Cody area position on the college board that’s currently held by Trustee John Housel.

School boards

Meanwhile, four seats are up for grabs on the Powell school board, with five candidates in the race as of Friday.

Incumbents Dusty Paul, Beau Fulton and Lillian Brazelton have filed for reelection, along with newcomers David Burke and Laurie Laursen. Incumbent Trace Paul hasn’t filed for another term. 

Over in the Cody school district, three board positions are on the ballot with four declared candidates to date. Incumbents Cathy Roes and Brandi Nelson have filed for reelection, while Wes Werbelow and Faith Kingston are also seeking a seat. (A fifth candidate, Jim Krubeck, filed and then withdrew.)

Incumbent Cody trustee Karen Schipfmann-Nelson has not filed for another term.

On the Meeteetse school board, Nicole Blake and Nick Randol have filed for reelection while Jeff Duncan is seeking to join the body. No one had filed for an unexpired, two-year term on the board as of Friday.

Hospital boards

Four positions are up for election on the Powell Hospital District board. Incumbents Scott McKenzie, Syd Thompson and Shelley Hill are seeking to continue serving, while Laurie Larsen is hoping to join the board. She would potentially replace Kost, who hasn’t filed for that seat.

Four seats are also available on the West Park Hospital board in Cody. Incumbents Howard Thompson, Travis Graham and Peter Sidor have filed for reelection, while trustee Jen Talich had not as of Friday, leaving one seat without a candidate.

Cemetery districts

For the Powell area, incumbent Monte McClain plus Tye Henderson and Scott Bagnell have filed for the three open seats on the Crown Hill Cemetery District board. Incumbents Clarence Anderson and John Karst haven’t filed for reelection.

In Cody, Cindi Durm, Myles Haines, Rex Hayhurst are each seeking reelection to the Riverside Cemetery District board, while trustees Jeannine Briggs and Todd Bentley want to continue serving the Bennett Buttes Cemetery District in Clark; Jerri Sansone seeking the third available position on the Bennett Buttes board, as trustee Sandy Specht hasn’t filed for reelection.

Fire districts

On the Powell fire district board, Bear May and Heath Worstell are each seeking reelection as directors 3 and 5, respectively, while Scott Bagnell is seeking the director 1 position; that seat is currently held by Jerry Faxon.

In the Cody fire district, Slim Cook (director 1) is being challenged by Ryan Selk, while Nathan Filener has filed for the seat now held by Jeff Steward (director 3).

Clark fire district directors Larry Denney and Paul Burling are seeking reelection, and are facing competition from James Siemons.

In the Meeteetse fire district, directors Frank Brice Lewis and Ben Anson are each unopposed in their bids for reelection.

Conservation districts

In the Powell Clarks Fork Conservation District, Regan Smith (rural) and Colby Schaefer (urban) are seeking reelection as supervisors, while Adam Stromberger is looking to replace Anthony Spiering (at large). Spiering has not filed for reelection.

Within the Cody Conservation District, three candidates — Alyce Vaughn (rural), Carmen Horne-McIntyre (at large) and Bobbie Holder (urban) — have filed for three available seats on the Cody Conservation District board. Horne-McIntyre and Holder are incumbents, while Vaughn is seeking to fill a vacant seat formerly held by Russ Dwyer of Cody. Dwyer left the board in mid-2025 after receiving a felony conviction and prison sentence in Montana.

In last week’s primary, voters rejected the Cody district’s proposal to begin collecting a 1 mill property tax. A total of 3,529 voters (64.6%) opposed the new tax, with 1,931 (35.4%) in support.

Unlike the Powell and Cody districts, the Meeteetse Conservation District does receive a vote-approved 1 mill levy that funds much of its operations. Shawn Shepperson (rural) and Ben Anson (at large) are seeking reelection to the Meeteetse district’s board, while no one had filed for the urban seat held by Tim Morrison as of Friday.