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style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
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style="font-size:14.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:
115%">PRESS RELEASE</span></b></p>
<p class="Normal1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">
<u>For
Immediate
Release</u>:<span style="mso-tab-count:6">
</span><u>For
more information</u>:</b></p>
<p class="Normal1">
Thursday, January 16, 2020<span
style="mso-tab-count:4"> </span><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><span
style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Juanita Vero, (406) <strong><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times
New Roman"">360-5821</span></strong></p>
<p class="Normal1"> </p>
<p class="Normal1" style="text-align:center" align="center"><b
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal"><span
style="font-size:12.0pt;mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt;line-height:
115%">Missoula County Commissioner Juanita Vero Files for 2020
Election</span></b></p>
<p class="Normal1"> </p>
<p class="Normal1"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Missoula,
MT.</i> Fourth
generation, lifelong resident of Missoula County and current
County
Commissioner Juanita Vero filed her intention to run as the
Democratic
candidate in the 2020 race for Missoula County Commissioner.
Commissioner Vero
waited until January 9, 2020 (the first day to legally file for
candidacy) to
officially signal her entry in the race but has had her campaign
running full
speed for a few months.</p>
<p class="Normal1"> </p>
<p class="Normal1">Born and raised on the E Bar L Ranch out in
Greenough in the
Blackfoot River valley, she has worked many years to support and
manage the
business her great grandparents began in the early 1920s. The
ranch is one of
Montana’s oldest family-owned and operated dude ranches.</p>
<p class="Normal1"> </p>
<p class="Normal1">Prior to her appointment as a Missoula County
Commissioner in
mid-2019, and beyond her work on the ranch, Vero chaired or sat on
executive
committees for some of our county’s most prestigious conservation
and nonprofit
boards of directors including: Montana Conservation Voters, Big
Blackfoot
Chapter of Trout Unlimited, Sunset School Board, Swan Valley
Connections, and Missoula
County Open Lands Committee.</p>
<p class="Normal1"> </p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">“I’m
running to retain my seat because I believe in what this
commission can do,”
said Vero. “I’m running because I believe in the Missoula County
staff and
citizens I work with daily. I want our county employees to have
the agency to
provide the best service they can, and for citizens to know
they’ve been heard
by county leaders and empowered to create the community in which
they want to
live.”</span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">As a
fourth generation rancher, Vero has extensive experience
navigating the tricky
dynamics of family, age, gender, race, class, and philosophy to
help their
enterprise be successful.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Most
of the ranch’s 4,000 acres, plus an additional 4,000 leased
acres, are under
conservation easement with the Nature Conservancy and Five
Valleys Land Trust.
The ranch also provides public access under Fish Wildlife and
Parks’ Block
Management program for yearly fall hunting opportunities. The
ranch maintains a
herd of 100 horses, hires 30 seasonal summer staff, has four
year-round
managers, and serves about 40 guests a week, June-September.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Commissioner
Juanita Vero is proud of her roots, giving her an authentic
rural voice to add
to the voices of the other two commissioners, Josh Slotnick and
Dave Strohmaier.</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“</span><span
style="font-family:
"Arial",sans-serif">I grew up in the Blackfoot Valley
where we are wary of
attorneys and lawyering up isn<span dir="RTL"></span><span
dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span
dir="RTL"></span>’</span>t our
style,” said Vero. “We embrace the 80/20 rule where we leave the
20% we can<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span
dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span>t
agree on at the door and focus our work upon the 80%
we do agree on. It has fostered a culture of collaboration and
trust in
private/public partnerships.”</span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Unlike
an incorporated city such as Missoula, a county commission is
limited to doing
only what the state expressly allows it to do. And Vero is
running because of
what she believes the commission <i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">can do</i>.
It is not uncommon these days, as one walks within the County
offices, to hear
employees and citizens alike suggesting with a smile, ‘there
hasn’t been such a
diverse and positive commission like this for a generation’.</span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">Commissioners
are each one third of a governing body. As a commissioner,
nothing is achieved
alone. And if pressed to speak to accomplishments and pride in
the work before
her, Vero is ready with a response. </span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">“</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;mso-ansi-language:DE"
lang="DE">As a
Commission we a</span><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">re all
committed to cracking this affordable housing/wage gap nut, we<span
dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"
lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span>re
exploring ways to adjust our taxing system so it’s more
equitable and the
burden does n<span dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA">o</span>t rest so
heavily on property
owners, we<span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span><span
dir="RTL" lang="AR-SA"><span dir="RTL"></span><span dir="RTL"></span>’</span>re
planning for 100% clean
electricity by year 2030, and we believe in being pro-business
and industry
while at the same time adhering to our conservation ethics of
protecting
working lands, open space, agricultural soil, wildlife and
riparian habitats.”</span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">The
campaign ahead will give Vero ample time, along with her daily
duties as a Commissioner,
to meet with Community Councils and citizens around the county.
Whether
Frenchtown, Target Range, Lolo and East Missoula or Bonner,
Potomac, Seeley
Lake and Condon she plans on <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>attending
meetings and listening deeply to community concerns.</span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif"> </span></p>
<p class="Body" style="line-height:120%"><span
style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif">“I
have a joyful, collaborative disposition which has prepared me
to navigate
tight budgets with heavy missions,” said Vero. “Having that
broad watershed,
ridge top to ridge top perspective, and seeing where we can best
work together
is the culture I come from. I truly respect and trust our
citizen voices and
efforts. This is what I bring to the Commission every day on the
job.”</span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span
style="mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">To
contact the campaign
please visit:</b> <a moz-do-not-send="true"
href="https://juanitaforcommissioner.com/"><span
class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color:#0D0D0D;
mso-themecolor:text1;mso-themetint:242">juanitaforcommissioner.com</span></span></a>.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center"><span
style="font-size:4.0pt;line-height:115%"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:center" align="center">###</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><u><span
style="font-size:4.0pt;line-height:115%"><span
style="text-decoration: none"> </span></span></u></i></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><u><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%">Notable
endorsements include</span></u></i><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:
115%">:</span></i><span
style="font-size:10.0pt;line-height:115%"> <b>Dave Strohmaier
</b>(Missoula County Commissioner), <b>Josh Slotnick </b>(Missoula
County
Commissioner), <b>John Engen </b>(Mayor of Missoula), <b>T.J.
McDermott </b>(Missoula
County Sheriff), <b>Tyler Gernant </b>(Missoula County Clerk
and Treasurer), <b>Erin
Lipkind </b>(County Superintendent of Schools), <b
style="mso-bidi-font-weight:
normal">Barbara Berens</b> (Former Missoula County Auditor), <b>Jack
Rich </b>(Outfitter<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">),<b>Tracy
Stone-Manning </b></span>(Vice-President,
National Wildlife Federation), <b>Bonnie Buckingham </b>(Executive
Director,
Community and Food Agriculture Coalition), <b>Land Tawney </b>(Executive
Director,
Backcountry Hunters and Anglers), <b>Karen Knudsen </b>(Executive
Director,
Clarkfork Coalition), <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal">Amber
Sherrill,</b>
(City Council, W4), <b>Katie Carlson </b>(CEO, Soula Realty<b>),
Addrien Marx </b>(President,
Montana Wilderness Association).</span></p>
<p class="Normal1"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u><span
style="font-size:4.0pt;line-height:115%"><span
style="text-decoration: none"> </span></span></u></b></p>
<p class="Normal1"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span
style="font-size:
4.0pt;line-height:115%"> </span></i></p>
<p class="Normal1" style="text-align:center" align="center"><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%">Paid for
by Friends of
Juanita Vero for Missoula County Commissioner, Democrat, PO
Box 2863,</span></i></p>
<p class="Normal1" style="text-align:center" align="center"><i
style="mso-bidi-font-style:
normal"><span style="font-size:9.0pt;line-height:115%">Missoula,
MT., 59806.
Barbara Berens, Treasurer.</span></i></p>
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