BUTTE — A crowd of more than 70 people was at the Butte Central Auditorium Wednesday evening to learn about the candidates in some of Butte’s very important races, including Butte’s chief executive and the sheriff’s race.
“We can’t go backwards, we can’t be going backwards saying that there’s something wrong with what’s happening in Butte. There’s something really going right in Butte-Silver Bow,” said Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher.
Incumbent Gallagher said there’s been $400 million in economic development and 1,100 new jobs in the county over the past four years of his term. His challenger Bill Foley criticized Gallagher’s administration for a lack of transparency.
“People ask me if I’m optimistic or pessimistic about Butte, and I’m very optimistic about Butte because I believe in the people of Butte and I believe we’re shutting out a lot of good people with public participation that they don’t get to have a say,” said Foley.
Incumbent Sheriff Ed Lester also shared the stage with his opponent Mike Gage in the sheriff’s race. Lester called on his 35 years of local law enforcement experience to make him worthy of another term. Both candidates said dealing with the fentanyl crisis will be a priority.
“And I have the training, the experience, the education, and the leadership ability to take this department into the future and, like I said, the focus is going to be technology,” said Lester.
Gage, who has been living in Butte for the past 8 years, has a decade of law enforcement experience working in the Kansas City metro area.
“I think there is a lot more we can be doing to protect our children from gaining access to the drugs, the drugs that are going on in this town are leading to a lot of thefts that are happening in this town, they are leading a lot to the mental health issues we’re having in this town,” said Gage.
The audience also heard from Interim County Attorney Kelli Fivey and Matt Enrooth in their tightly contested county attorney race. Some people said it was important to attend this evening.
“This particular year is very important that people study and understand the issues we’re voting for as well as the people that are running for county, state, and federal government,” said Butte resident Bruce Schlaebitz.
The general election is Nov. 5.
