No primaries for Havre elections this year

Rick Dow, left, and Bob Kaul, right.

September's primaries will be fairly quiet for any fans of local politics. And the actual election won't be much more active.

Filings for this November's Havre City Council elections ended Thursday evening with only one contested race, in Ward 3.

That race will be between Republican Rick Dow, who filed early on Thursday morning, and incumbent Democrat Bob Kaul, who filed 15 minutes before the deadline.

Dow, who has been an occasional columnist for the Havre Daily News for the past two years, said he wanted to run after receiving "a lot of encouragement over the last couple years" and wanting to apply his opinions more effectively.

"I just want to make sure my kids don't grow up in a nanny state, basically, " Dow said. "Anything I can do to contribute and not stand on the sidelines ... .

"I can only do so much with the letters to the editor. "

Kaul said earlier this year that this would be his last term on the council.

When fellow incumbent Andrew Brekke, who is seeking another term in his seat, came into the Hill County Courthouse to check on filings, Kaul had just finished filing. He told Brekke that he had thought about it, discussed running again with his wife and decided to go for one more term.

The other three wards only have one, unopposed, candidate each.

Brekke is running again

in Ward 4.

Brian Barrows, a Republican, is seeking the Ward 2 council seat currently held by Cal Long. Barrows just retired this spring as the principal of Sunnyside Intermediate School after more than 20 years of teaching in Havre Public Schools.

The one unopposed Democrat, Bonnie Parenteau, is running in Ward 1, to replace Pam Hillery.

Brekke, who is also chair of the Hill County Republican Party, said that he had trouble finding candidates to run for the seat. He said that most people he talked to just thought it was too much of a time commitment and couldn't do it.

Brekke estimated he spent between 15 and 20 hours a month doing council-related activities, though he thought that would be more than most, with the committees that he sits on. Most council members, he said, could probably expect more like 10 or 15 hours a month.

For their time, council members receive $200-a-month.