After waiting until the last minute, a couple more candidates have decided to join the race for the Park County Commission.

With JP Jones and Kelly Simone of Cody filing on Friday, there are now six Republicans seeking two available seats on the commission.

Simone is a physician assistant and West Park Hospital District trustee while Jones is a realtor and Park County Fair Advisory Board member. They’ll both compete for votes alongside incumbent Commissioner Scott Mangold of Powell, and Cody business people Casey Edwards, Karin Richard and Tanner Beemer.

Commissioner Lee Livingston of Wapiti is not seeking reelection.

As for the Wyoming Legislature, Rep. Dalton Banks (R-Cowley) was the only local lawmaker to go unopposed, with the rest of Park County’s seats drawing two Republican candidates.

They are:

Nina Webber and Matt Hall in House District 24;

Rep. David Northrup (R-Powell) and challenger Paul Hoeft in HD 25;

Rep. John Winter (R-Thermpolis) and Kevin Skates in HD 28;

Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams (R-Cody) and David Hill in HD 50;

Sen. Tim French (R-Powell) and Landon Greer in Senate District 18; and

Sen. Ed Cooper (R-Ten Sleep) and Tom Olmstead in SD 20.

Barring the entry of any Democratic, third party, independent or write-in candidates, both the commission and legislative races will effectively be settled by Republican voters in the Aug. 20 primary election.

Meanwhile, filings for the nonpartisan Powell City Council positions were a bit slower, as both Ward 1 Councilman Geoff Hovivian and Ward 2 Councilman Floyd Young went unopposed in their bids for reelection. However, Mayor John Wetzel is being challenged by Kade Richmond and Ward 3 Councilwoman Lesli Spencer — who filed on Friday — faces competition from Troy Bray.

The Cody City Council, meanwhile, will see a bit of a shakeup, with Mayor Hall and Ward 2 Councilman Jerry Fritz departing and Ward 3 Councilwoman Lee Ann Reiter running for mayor; Reiter will compete with Chuck Struemke for the city’s top office.

Meanwhile, Tim McIsaac and Nelson “Doc” Fees are seeking to replace Fritz, while Brian Walker, Joanna Settineri, Joseph Burrell and Tillman Maxwell are seeking the Ward 3 position. Over in Ward 1, Councilman Andy Quick is being challenged by Francis Otto and Jeremy Laing. 

As for school, college, fire, hospital and other special districts, the filing period for those offices opens on Aug. 7, as those nonpartisan candidates go straight to November’s general election ballot.