by George Gramlich,
News and Notations
Considering it is an off election year, Custer County registered voters came out in decent numbers with 2,490 ballots cast out of 4,308 active voters.

The big local fiscal issue, Custer County Ballot Issue 1A, the proposed new Judicial Center with a new jail, new Sheriff’s Office and a new courthouse, was soundly defeated by a pretty huge margin of 1,584 against with only 887 (64.1% vs. 35.9%) voting for it. The measure which would have spent around $18 million for the center with a bond payback cost of $30+ million was apparently just too much for the local citizens. Coupled with the current overall dim economic and political outlook, the time was not right for this to get done.
The only competitive local election was for Custer County School District C-1 Director – District 4 with Jordon Benson squeezing by Alma L. Golden by a mere 7 votes with a 1,018 vs. 1,011 count. (Results are close and also tentative at this point.) Peggi Collins won District 1 and Tracy Marie Broll won District 5, both running unopposed.
In the three statewide measures on the ballot, Happy Valley voters showed their conservative credentials in our blue state by voting for Amendment 78 (Constitutional) which would have given the legislature oversight and control of any federal or other monies that are given to the state replacing the current situation where King Polis and his happy puppet libs dole it out as they see fit. However, statewide this wise measure was defeated with approximately 56% of the voters voting no.
Custer County voters also rallied behind Proposition 120 (Statutory) which would have rolled certain property taxes back in the state by a close vote of 1,219 for and 1,196 against. Again, this commons sense measure was defeated at the state level with around 56% of the voters voting it down.
Finally, the evil Proposition 119 which would have dramatically raised taxes on legal pot and give that money to an unelected, self-selecting left wing “board” that would oversee its distribution to a whole bunch of non-school “educational” activities (read lib propaganda wish list) was trounced in Custer County by a vote of 1,649 against and 807 for. Good job. Statewide, almost surprisingly, it also lost with around 54%.