Gallatin County Commissioner candidate disqualified over residency issues

A Gallatin Gateway woman has been disqualified for running for a Gallatin County Commission seat after it was determined she was ineligible because she didn’t meet residency requirements.

Tracie Gibbons says she received notification of her disqualification from the county’s District 3 election on March 11, one week after the candidate filing period had closed.

“They called me and apologized, and said I couldn’t run,” Gibbons said. “I did everything I was told to do to verify my district, which was to go to the Clerk and Recorder’s (Office) and look at the map and verify my district.”

State law requires county commissioners to reside in the district in which they are running for at least two years.

“When I went into the office to verify that I resided in District 3, the map on the wall said I was in District 3,” Gibbons said. “They had a 2022 map up there.”

In 2023, as part of a routine county redistricting, lines were redrawn, placing Gibbon’s residence within the borders of District 1.

“After the candidate filing window, we do initial checks on eligibility, but our staff just does the bare minimum, and then it goes to management to review between the close of the candidate filing period and ballot certification,” said Jasmine Hall, elections manager for the county.

It was within this 12-day window that Gibbons was notified of her ineligibility.

While Gallatin County commissioner terms are usually staggered, seats in both District 1 and District 3 are open. District 3 is vacant because former Scott MacFarlane resigned in February.

Due to the unusual circumstances created by MacFarlane’s mid-term resignation, candidates are competing to complete the remaining four years of the term. Meanwhile, Brown and fellow commissioner Jennifer Boyer are also seeking an interim commissioner to fill the District 3 seat through December.

Gibbons registered to run for both positions. On the 11th, she received a phone call from District 1 Commissioner Zach Brown, who will be running for reelection in November.

“I was initiating a conversation about appointment logistics, and employment logistics, and swearing-in ceremonies because at that point it looked like she was the only one who was interested and qualified,” Brown said of Gibbon’s merits as an interim District 3 commissioner.

The nomination process for the interim position, which is occurring concurrently with the process for selecting a candidate for the full four-year term. Brown said Gibbons was the only remaining candidate who met the filing deadline and party requirements to fill the interim seat.

Gibbons said she interpreted Brown’s hypotheticals as a job offer for the interim position in District 3.

“I can understand how it could have come across that way,” Brown said. “But the only way for us to ‘offer’ an appointment is to make that decision in a public meeting.”

Gibbons said she believed the two were finalizing details regarding her appointment.

“I was to be sworn in on March 31 and to start the role on April 1,” Gibbons said. “Three hours later, the Republican Party contacted the county office to tell them they used the incorrect map for the district. (The county) didn’t even find the error.”

Gibbons said Eric Semerad, the Gallatin County election administrator, called her on March 11 to explain the details of her disqualification and apologize for the mistake.

“And then they turn around and tell a whole different story to the public,” Gibbons said. “They turned it on me, saying it was my fault for not running in the right district, and now I can’t even run in District 1 because the filing period is closed.”

The candidate filing period was Feb. 17 to March 4.

Republican Colter Metcalf is the only eligible candidate on the District 3 ballot after Gibbon’s disqualification and the withdrawal of Democratic candidate Nate Powell-Palm. With the primary set for June 2, write-in candidates have until 5 p.m. Aug. 5 to register.

As for the search to fill the temporary position, the Gallatin County Commission has asked the Gallatin County Democratic Central Committee to provide a list of five additional candidates for the temporary position by April 10.

These candidates will be considered during a public meeting held in the Gallatin County Courthouse Community Room at 9 a.m. April 21.