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Primary Election Candidates and Their Profiles

Author: Nancy Marks, MT43 News Reporter Nancy Marks: MT43 News Secretary and News Editor

Nancy Marks

MT43 News Reporter

Broadwater County and Legislative District 77 voters will vote for their choice of candidates who are running for county offices and for Legislative District 77 representative. The candidates’ family information, education, and reasons for running for office are submitted here. We are also visiting candidates for non-partisan offices that will be on the general election ballots in November.

Absentee ballots were mailed from the Elections Office May 8. Completed ballots must be at the Elections Office at the County Court House, 515 Broadway, by 5:00 p.m. Tuesday, June 2nd. Depending on where district voters live, in-person voting will take place in Winston, Toston and at Broadwater County Library and Community Room in Townsend.

County Commissioner Six-Year Term

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Debi Randolph, Incumbent, Townsend

Debi Randolph, age 63, is running as incumbent for county commissioner. She was first elected in 2021 and has served on the three-member board for five years. She attended high school in Sherwood, Oregon and Lexington, Kentucky. She attended Portland State and Oregon State University, majoring in agriculture education. She lived in Boise, Idaho, where she worked in advertising sales. When she moved to Townsend in 2010, she worked a short time at Townsend Seeds and then managed a Madison River fly fishing lodge. She filed for Broadwater County Commissioner in 2021. She has two sons and two granddaughters.

If she is re-elected, her priorities are protecting property rights, maintaining fiscal responsibility, improving infrastructure, supporting public safety and ensuring government transparency and accountability.

Listing the Commissioner's successes in her term, she pointed to:

* Improvements in the county website

* The use of TextMyGov to allow residents to communicate with the government by text

* Regular articles to the newspaper from the county departments

She also instituted public meetings regarding the county budget.

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Tim Ravndal, Townsend

Tim Ravndal, age 67, is an Anaconda, Montana native. He lives in the county with his wife, Chris, and has three grown children. He graduated from Anaconda High School and attended Butte Vocational Technical College, training in mechanics. He worked at auto dealerships.

He moved to Townsend in 1985, where he worked for RY Timber for many years. He also ran Tim’s Auto Service in Townsend. He ran twice for House District 68, once in 2013 and again in 2020. He also ran for County Commissioner in 2002. In 2022, he established Broadwater County News, a local newspaper, when the Broadwater Reporter ceased publishing. He closed Broadwater County News publication in 2023. He currently owns and manages the online publication Conservative News for Montana.

If elected, Tim plans to restore transparency to the commission and accountability of Broadwater County government. His main focus is to end the current Commissioners’ discussion-decision policy at the same meeting. He feels that discussing important issues such as okaying new subdivisions or family transfers, passing department expenditures or appointing new employees and making the decision to do so in the same public meeting does not serve the public’s interests. He would approve a forensic audit of the county’s budget to make the commission more accountable.

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Audrey Walleser, Winston

Audrey Walleser, age 46, Winston, Montana, has filed to run for the open seat on the Broadwater County Commission. She has a son who is at college in Bismarck, North Dakota, and a grown daughter who lives in Great Falls. Her education includes a bachelor's degree in agriculture communications and political science from the University of Wyoming and a master’s degree in American government from American Public University in West Virginia. She will get her PhD in domestic policy from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. June 1st.

She has worked in public service for 26 years and now serves as an analyst for Montiva, a firm which provides environmental, social, and governing (ESG) standards for businesses.

Walleser is running for the office because she believes the county needs stronger leadership with an emphasis on policy and needs to have better communication between the commission and its constituents. She advises voters to do their research on each candidate and to learn how to successfully engage with government entities.

LEGISLATIVE HOUSE DISTRICT 77 CANDIDATES

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Deb Hansen, Manhattan

Deb Hansen, age 73, is running as a Democrat for Legislative House District 77. She lives near Manhattan with her husband, Mike Funk. They have one grown child. She has a bachelor of science from the University of Illinois and an MBA in accounting and finance. Her career in financial management included banking, advertising and senior living placement services. She has operated Life Support Coaching, LLC since 2018 as a Certified Life Coach and Senior Living Advisor.

She is active in the Democratic Party. If elected, Hansen plans to work toward giving people a choice for an opportunity to keep public lands public, to protect the environment and resources safe from exploitation and to protect our most vulnerable citizens with affordable health care and childcare.

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Jane Gillette, Incumbent, Three Forks

Jane Gillette, 55, is the Republican candidate for Legislative House District 77. She was born in Tacoma, Washington and moved to Montana in 2005 to serve as a Captain at Malmstrom Air Force Base. She served in the US Air Force from 2002 to 2013. She currently works as a researcher and healthcare consultant. She and her husband, Chris, live outside Three Forks on the Jefferson River. They have three grown children.

She has a master’s degree in public health from University of Montana and a Doctorate in Dental Surgery from the University of Washington. Her bachelor’s degree is in biology from Pacific Lutheran University. She has several advanced degrees in organizational leadership and value-based healthcare.

Gillette has served three terms as a legislator. First elected in 2020, she served 4 years representing House District 64. After the Districts were redrawn, she was elected to a third term representing House District 77. If re-elected, this will be her fourth term in the Montana Legislature.

As an incumbent, if re-elected, her goals for the 2027 session would be to address Montana’s high property taxes, protect water and property rights in relation to data centers, and securing the public’s right to know with respect to ballot initiatives and elections.

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Non-Partisan Offices That Will Be on the General Election Ballot in November:

Mark Wood, Sheriff/County Coroner – candidate, serving an interim term appointment

Luis Espinoza/Sheriff/County Coroner – candidate

Leona Nelson/County Treasurer/Superintendent of Schools- candidate

Angie Paulsen, Incumbent, candidate for County Clerk and Recorder, Elections Administrator and County Surveyor

Kirk Flynn, Incumbent, candidate for Justice of the Peace.

Kevin Bratcher, Incumbent, candidate for County Attorney

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Article Images

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PhotoCredit: Photos Provided
Image 1 Caption: Debi Randolph Photo Provided
Image 2 Caption: Tim Ravndal Photo Provided
Image 3 Caption: Audrey Walleser Photo Provided
Image 4 Caption: Deb Hansen Photo Provided
Image 5 Caption: Jane Gillette Photo Provided