November 2, 2023 |
Photo – Carbon County Republican Party logo – Bigfoot99 file photo
And then there were eight. The number of applicants seeking to be named to the open seat on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners seat grew by one on Wednesday.
The Carbon County Republican Central Committee will meet tonight to select three people who have applied to fill the seat vacated recently by Byron Barkhurst. The board of commissioners will then choose one of the three to sit on the board for the remainder of Barkhurst’s term.
Letters of interest for the open seat were accepted until noon this past Sunday, October 29th. The Republican Central Committee received seven completed letters of interest. Yesterday morning, Carbon County Republican Party Chairman Paul Metevier told Bigfoot99 that an eighth name will be considered during tonight’s meeting.
In a written message to Bigfoot99 on Wednesday, Metevier said Little Snake River Valley rancher Patrick O’Toole said in a phone call that he had completed the application process by Sunday’s deadline, but his name was not included in the running for the open seat. Metevier said he found O’Toole’s properly filed application in his spam email folder.
After the discovery, the Republican party chairman added O’Toole to the list of applicants that will be considered for the open seat on the Board of Carbon County Commissioners.
O’Toole, who operates the Ladder Ranch in Savery, joins seven other Carbon County residents vying for the open commissioner position. Also in the running are John Moore, Joey Correnti, Jerry Steele, James Hinkle, Garrett Irene, Emilee Berger, and Richard Raymer.
The 30 member Carbon County Republican Central Committee will meet tonight, at 6:00 pm, in the Elk Mountain town hall. The meeting is open to the public.
The committee members will cast their ballots for who they want to fill the open seat. The three names of the three nominees with the most votes will be presented to the Board of Carbon County Commissioners.
The board will select one of the three nominees to fill the empty position at its next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, November 7.
*** Note *** The source that submitted the information to the reporter may have gotten O’Toole’s name wrong.
