Commissioners approve new districts for themselves

The Flathead County Commissioners unanimously approved new boundaries for their districts on Oct. 17. The new lines reflect changes in population from 2000 to 2010, and final approval must be given by a Flathead District Court judge.

The commissioner districts must be evaluated after each census and altered if necessary to keep the number of voters per district as nearly equal as possible and to keep the land area per district as similar as possible.

The current commissioners include Cal Scott, District 1, Pam Holmquist, District 2, and Gary Krueger, District 3.

Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area create anomalies that make redrawing boundaries a challenge. The county opted to reconfigure the districts by precinct boundary lines this time instead of using township lines.

The biggest change will occur on the west side of the county, where District 3 will extend further north and include Olney and areas north of Olney, areas that had been in District 1.

District 1, which includes Columbia Falls, the North Fork, the Canyon and Highway 206, will extend further south in some places.

The population distribution under the new boundaries will be 29,765 residents in District 1, 30,372 in District 2 and 30,786 in District 3.

The commissioners had adjusted the boundaries back in January 2012 but rescinded their action after commissioners Jim Dupont and Dale Lauman said they felt the timing would affect commissioner candidates filing for the District 3 seat.

Candidates can file only for the commissioner seat in the district where they live, but all voters in the county may cast ballots in all commission races.

The next county commissioner election will take place in 2014 when the District 1 seat is open. It was held by Dupont until his death in March 2012, and Scott was elected to fill out the remainder of the term.