For months now, candidates have been announcing runs for office throughout the region and the state. But with the closing period to file for primary and municipal races now closed, the real race to the August election is on, and it’s going to be a busy one thanks to a huge amount of candidates in many of the races. 

For instance, four people applied to run (a fifth withdrew), including the incumbent Tim Sapp, for Powell City Council’s Ward 3 seat that’s up this year, and five for an open Ward 1 seat.

And no race locally is more crowded than that for the three Park County Commission seats up for grabs, as 11 candidates have filed for the Republican primary, and that’s after a 12th withdrew from the race. 

Above anything else, it’s very good to see this level of involvement. I remarked to one of the many candidates who has announced for a local office that it’s always great to see competition in just about everything, and especially in politics.  The challenge generally leads to candidates needing to be more clear as to what they’re running for to differentiate themselves from the rest, which in turn gives voters a better understanding of who they’re voting for. 

I’ve only been in Park County for closing in on nine years, but in that time I’ve seen local elections with very few — or even not enough candidates to fill seats — and I’ve seen races about as loaded as this year. 

These types of election seasons, with a proliferation of candidates, always make me feel good about local involvement. Chances are if there are more candidates, there’s more of a likelihood local residents who may not be clued into politics on a regular basis know someone running, or have at least some knowledge about the issues. 

Of course, now that filing is over, it’s incumbent on all of these candidates to tell as many potential constituents as possible how they would do if elected to the role they are seeking. To that end, there has already been a number of town halls and events, and you can expect many more in the coming months. 

In fact, I attended a county commissioners debate Saturday at the Cody Library which, while only featuring just over half of the candidates, still provided some good information on where candidates stand on some of the hot button issues being raised in the race. 

The Park County GOP will also host a legislative debate and one of the three statewide gubernatorial debates this summer. 

Debates are a great opportunity for citizens to really get an idea of the similarities and differences between candidates on important local issues, whether that’s land use regulations, cost of living or election security. 

I hope that what we’ve seen already is only the beginning.