By Michael Howell
The Ravalli County Republican Central Committee has chosen a list of three names to submit to the County Commissioners as nominations for appointment to replace outgoing Commissioner Matt Kanenwisher. The list includes Jeff Burrows, Clayton Dethlefsen and Bill Menager. Burrows was also selected to be the Republican candidate for the seat in the upcoming November election.
The nominations for appointment for temporary replacement of Kanenwisher were made at a Republican Central Committee meeting on Tuesday, June 12. No timeline is apparently set by law to fill the vacancy. If the sitting commissioners are unsatisfied with the three nominations submitted by the Central Committee they may reject all offers in which case the committee will select three more names for nomination and the commissioners may then choose from the total of six nominations. No date has been set for the decision.
Regardless of who is appointed, they will only serve until the November election and Jeff Burrows will be the Republican candidate for the position. Burrows was raised in the valley and graduated from Hamilton High School in 1999. He got his engineering degree from Montana Tech and worked as an engineer for the US Air Force in Colorado for a year before moving back to the valley with his wife and starting a family business or two. They both have family in the Bitterroot and Burrows is currently working with his father-in-law in construction and auto restoration.
“I’m pro life, pro guns and pro property rights,” said Burrows. He said the economy needs some straightening out. “We have a lot of natural resources, but we are shipping our talent to the oil fields,” said Burrows. He said he would work hard to get the economy back on track.
Burrows also ran unsuccessfully for House District 87 in 2010. He said he is getting more active politically and that he talked it over with his family and business partners and has their support. “If I’m appointed or elected I will be ready to serve,” said Burrows.