Powell Butte resident Monty Kurtz becomes third candidate looking to fill vacant Crook County commission seat

(Update: Adding video, comments from Monty Kurtz)

PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) -- After former Crook County Commissioner Jerry Brummer resigned from his position earlier this month, the county has been operating with only Judge Seth Crawford and Commissioner Brian Barney at the helm. But one Powell Butte is looking to fill the open third spot.

Bryan Iverson, Brian Samp and now Monty Kurtz have announced their intentions to run for the vacant seat. Iverson was previously the founding member of the Downtown Prineville Association, along with multiple other organizations in the county. Samp is currently a member of the Prineville Planning Commission, and worked as an electrician on the county's Meta data centers for the last 8 years.

Kurtz has lived in Powell Butte since 2016. Last year, he ran for Crook County treasurer, but was defeated by incumbent Galan Carter.

Last month, we reported on Crook County considering a change to its government structure, and go from a judge and two full-time commissioners to three part-time commissioners and a full-time county administrator, effectively getting rid of the "judge" position. Brummer cited stress from the potential change in government structure as one of his main reasons for resigning, though that discussion apparently is sidelined, at least for now.

Last Tuesday, the county published a notice of vacancy, opening a 30-day window in which the public can nominate someone to fill the vacancy. After that 30-day period, court members can then go over all of the nominations and decide what to do next, which could include interviewing some or all of the nominees, and ultimately deciding whom to appoint.

Kurtz told NewsChannel 21 on Tuesday that his intention for running is to change the form of government Crook County currently operates under. He elaborated, "It's not just a commissioner position. If I feel like I need to, I'm going to go for the judge position. But my whole end game is to change the form of government so we have three commissioners, instead of a judge and two commissioners."

"I feel like you become a judge when you're appointed as a judge, or you go through the experience and knowledge and you gain that title," he added.

Whoever is appointed to fill Brummer's vacancy will serve for the remainder of his term, which concludes Dec. 31, 2024, and of course could file to run for a full four-year term next year, as Samp already has.

The deadline to apply for the interim Crook County commission spot is Thursday, Nov. 9 at 5 P.M.

The candidate selected will then be sworn in to fill the vacant commissioner seat prior to Jan. 3 of next year.

If no one is selected by the county by Jan. 3, Crook County residents will get to vote in their next commissioner in the May 21 primary election.