And then there were four

A district judge’s signature on a stipulation court document has allowed Stillwater County Sheriff Cliff Brophy to start campaigning for District 3 Commissioner, bringing the field of candidates to four.
District Judge Randal Spaulding signed the document March 14, which states that all parties involved agree that should Spaulding eventually rule in favor of Brophy’s original lawsuit asking for the residency requirement for county commissioner to be declared unconstitutional, Brophy can still appear on the June ballot, despite having missed the filing deadline by two days.
Brophy missed the filing deadline because he is waiting on Spaulding’s ruling. The stipulated document was signed by Ray Kuntz (Brophy’s attorney) and the respondents on the case who are the Attorney General (AG), the Secretary of State and the election administrator.
Brophy said Tuesday that he has filed with the state through the electronic web site service and will now begin campaigning.
At issue is the 2-year residency requirement in the district for which a commissioner candidate is running. Brophy only recently moved to Park City, which falls in District 3.
Brophy’s primary argument centers on other elected offices, such as state legislators and city council candidates, having “much less restrictive durational residency requirements,” according to court documents.
For example, the residency requirement for state legislators is one year, and just six months prior to the general election if the county contains two or more districts, according to the suit. City council candidates are subject to a 60-day duration residential requirement.
Brophy also argues that his 37 years with the sheriff’s office and the fact that he has been elected seven times is evidence of his serious commitment to the community.
The AG’s Office is fighting the suit.
Brophy joins other commissioner candidates Al Nordahl, Ervin Hossfeld and Ty Hamilton. All are running as Republicans.