Juanita Vero
MISSOULA - Fourth generation, lifelong resident of Missoula County and current County Commissioner Juanita Vero filed to run as the Democratic candidate in the 2020 election for Missoula County Commissioner on January 9, 2020.
"I'm running to retain my seat because I believe in the Missoula County staff and citizens I work with daily," said Vero. I want citizens to know they've been heard by county leaders and empowered to create the community in which they want to live."
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.
"I grew up in the Blackfoot Valley where we are wary of attorneys and lawyering up isn't our style," said Vero. "We embrace the 80/20 rule where we leave the 20 percent we can't agree on at the door and focus our work upon the 80 percent we do agree on. It has fostered a culture of collaboration and trust in private/public partnerships."
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.
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.
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 can do. 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'.
"As a Commissioner, I'm committed to exploring ways to adjust our taxing system so it's more equitable and the burden doesn't rest so heavily on property owners. I'm pro-business and industry while at the same time adhering to my conservation ethics of protecting working lands and riparian habitats."
Commissioner Vero welcomes opportunities to meet with Community Councils and citizens around the county. Whether Seeley Lake, Condon, Potomac, East Missoula or Bonner, she plans on attending meetings and listening deeply to community concerns.
"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."
To contact the campaign please visit JuanitaForCommissioner.com.
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