TODAY on Chit Chat: Aug. 25, 2010

From left, Julie Freese, Brian Varn, Dennis Heckart

Fremont County Officials, Clerk Julie Freese, Attorney Brian Varn and Commissioner Dennis Heckart explained how the county will be split into voting districts and how and when to file for a commission seat.

The filing period for commissioners has been set for Sept. 7-10, with the primary on Nov. 16 and general election on Jan. 18. Cost to the taxpayers will be $40-50,000. Elected officials will take office on Jan. 28. So, the current commissioners are trying to get all big projects signed off on by the end of December. County bills will still be paid, but no action will be taken by the commission until the end of January when they have a quorum. There are three seats open.

CLICK HERE to listen to the discussion with News Director Leslie Stratmoen.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: From Clerk Julie Freese, Aug. 27, 2010

So many questions have been raised about the Commissioner’s Elections and why the county chose to submit the plans that they did.  I would like to outline the steps taken and concerns we had during this process.

First, the judge never ruled that we had to submit a 5 single-member district plan.  He stated that we were to “district” the county.  We agree that we have lost the voting rights issue of the Native Americans’ votes being diluted, and they will get their district.  For the rest of the county, we as elected officials are to take the interests of all county residents into account.  Our interpretation of the statutes is that the only way to district the county is to put it to a vote of the electors.  That proposition was placed on the ballot in 1992 and it failed.  I found it interesting that the main reservation voters (Ft. Washakie, Arapahoe and Ethete) defeated that referendum as well.  In listening to the citizens in our county, we drafted a 2 district plan as our preferred plan.  This gave the Native Americans their own district where they can vote for their preferred candidate.  The rest of the county would stay in another district.  This plan would allow all citizens to exercise their right to petition the commission to place a proposition on the ballot to district the commissioners.  Should that happen and it pass, the county would district the remainder of the county.  Our plan was crafted to preserve, rather than usurp, the citizens’ rights.

            The alternate plan was created so we could design the five districts based on keeping our voting precincts whole.  Why is that important?  As an example, there is a voting precinct in the west Riverton area that has 2 ballot styles for the General Election.  In the plaintiffs’ plans, these voters will now see 5 different ballot styles because of the commissioner lines drawn by the plaintiffs.  This is difficult for the election judges to keep track of and give ballots out correctly AND it’s confusing for voters.  Throughout the county the plaintiffs’ lines appear that they will split 15 out of 32 of our voting precincts compared to 6 if our lines were used.  So when Commissioner Thompson said he and some of the other commissioners were “greatly disappointed,” yes we were because we felt the judge took NO consideration for all voters of this county.  The fact that he did not take into account the education of voters and ease of voting for citizens and administration by election judges is mind boggling.  Our final request was that, if he found that our two plans violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, and if he determined that only 5 single-member districts be used, that he choose our lines, as they followed voting precincts and kept them whole.  As we begin looking into the lines, I have found that the plaintiff’s plan will split the Beaver Creek Housing area (a Native American housing district south of the Wind River Casino) in half.  Half of those voters will vote for the “reservation district commissioner” and the others will vote for another commissioner district candidate.  What kind of help did the judge give the Native American’s in that area?

            Other comments that need clarification involve the amount of money we are spending in this case.  Our fees are being covered by our liability insurance.  We have a $5,000 deductible and to date, we have paid very little out of our budget.  The cost of these additional elections will be borne by the county and have been budgeted.  While we are talking about cost, why didn’t the plaintiffs try the petition route first (to district the county commissioners)?  It would not have cost the plaintiffs or the county to place that proposition on the ballot.   

            We were not purposely causing a delay, but rather were crafting the most equitable plan we could for all citizens.  We only acted within our legal rights and within the time constraints given by the court and even asked for expedited hearings on the plans.  The judge heard this case in Federal Court 3 ½ years ago and didn’t make a decision until an election year.  That means there were two “off election” years in which the judge could have rendered his ruling. 

            What are the election plans now?  It will take 3-4 weeks to sort out the plaintiffs’ lines and determine which commissioner district each voter is in and to send notification to each voter.  Some time lines will be dramatically reduced and a special Primary and General Election will be prepared as soon as feasibly possible.  It is very likely that the special General Election will not be held until sometime in January of 2011.

In closing, the commissioners and the clerk do owe the citizens of our county the responsibility of making good, sound decisions that come before us regarding this case.  I feel the commission made the decisions based on the desires of the citizens of our county and what was interpreted as our rights under state law.  I took an oath of office to uphold the constitution and the laws of this state.  I firmly stand behind the decisions I chose during these deliberations.  To the voters of Fremont County, our staff will work through this process and supply the best education we can to successfully provide for a Primary and General Election for County Commissioners.  As a county we will have to find a way to put this behind us and move on for the betterment of our county citizens.  And as for the judge and ACLU, they will go onto other issues and never know the ramifications of their actions.

Sincerely,

Julie A. Freese

Fremont County Clerk