How much change do voters want? The Park County Clerk race puts that question to the test.

Longtime First Deputy Park County Clerk Hans Odde of Cody, who previously served as the clerk in Hot Springs County, and Jimmy Rush of Wapiti, a U.S. Navy veteran with decades of experience in electronics systems, are both vying to replace retiring Clerk Colleen Renner.

Odde and Rush both attended a Park County Republican Women candidate forum June 17 at The Commons, though they didn’t get the chance to face off.

Rush originally said he wouldn’t be able to attend due to prior plans with family, but due to issues at work, he couldn’t make the trip. The day before the forum, Rush told the organizers he would, in fact, be able to make the event, but they determined it was too late for him to join. However, he was allowed to have a table for signs at the back alongside other candidates. Park County Republican Women member Dossie Overfield  read a statement Rush had previously prepared, when he didn’t think he would be able to make it; Rush also took video of the forum and replied to all of the clerk questions on his candidate social media page following the event. 

Odde has also countered some of Rush’s criticisms of him on Odde’s own candidate page. 

In particular, Rush criticized Odde not completing his last term as Hot Springs County clerk and said he would serve a full term if elected. Odde countered that he and his family moved to Cody, so he couldn’t remain as clerk of another county. 

At the June 17 forum Odde noted his experience in the office and said he’s been “involved in every facet of the office” since being hired by Renner in 2015. 

Transparency

Odde said his office door is open anytime anyone wants to talk to him and said transparency is vital in the clerk’s office as the “clerk is the record keeper of the county and the record keeper of the county commissioners.”

He said all public records requests come through the office, which means transparency is vital for the office in working to provide information. 

Rush said he would be an “open book” for any questions he can legally answer and said he thinks charging residents for public information is wrong. 

“We need to ensure we are serving the Park County residents with accuracy and also look into cutting costs to access public record information,” Rush wrote. 

Improvements

When asked how he’d improve the office, Odde mentioned a program he and Renner have been putting into place to streamline the elections process: electronic pollbooks. 

“If you’re a Powell resident and you voted in 2024 during the general election here in Powell at the fairgrounds, you likely stood in line for a good amount of time to get to your ballot, and for that we apologize,” he said. “However, we are rectifying that this year with the electronic pollbooks, and it’s going to be making check-in much smoother.”

He said the e-pollbooks will double the capacity at each of the big polling locations from four stations to eight to drastically trim the time waiting in line. Odde said it will also allow workers to check eligibility real time, which will improve security.

Election security is one of Rush’s top motivators for running for clerk, and he wrote that at-will audits during election periods are the best way to handle the ballot tabulators. 

“We own the machines and we should be able to audit them when we choose; no one fails an audit that everyone is aware of,” he said. 

He also said he wants to bring down the cost to access information in the clerk’s office and will ensure workers are well-trained and that others in the department are trained to do his job should the need arise. 

Closing statements

Odde reiterated his work to upgrade the security of elections, noting he was involved in the process to upgrade to the next generation of electronic tabulators in Park County. 

“With your support, I want to continue what Colleen [Renner] and I have built in the clerk’s office, and that is a responsive customer-focused atmosphere where all Park County citizens are treated with respect, kindness, regardless of who you are, what your political affiliation is,” he said. “Experience, integrity and commitment is who I am.”

Rush noted his opposition to mail-in ballots, saying they do not support election integrity and that he has spent 30 years protecting his employers’ or customers’ information and ensuring its accuracy.

“I have been told many times in my career that I could not do something, only to do it and do it well,” he wrote. “I thrive during stressful times so that I can break them down and remove the stress. I enjoy taking someone who is having a bad day and dumping their issues on me or my staff and helping them find the information they need and doing it with a smile just to hear them say thank you for your help.”