Category: News

Bridenstine Launches Campaign in Historic County Commissioner Race

Jonica Bridenstine is throwing her hat into the race for Presiding Commissioner of McDonald County, making it onto the November 3rd ballot and becoming the first Independent candidate in the county’s history to do so for this office.

The Bridenstine campaign officially launched today, but the idea of running for office was sparked in the candidate some time ago.

“I spent six months carefully weighing this decision, fully aware of the challenges,” Bridenstine said on her newly released website. “However, I also know that if we want a more accountable and representative local government, someone has to step up and initiate change.”

Historically, the county commissioner seats in McDonald County have primarily been held by Republicans. For Bridenstine to change that and enter the race as an Independent, a formal petition process was required.

“Thanks to a dedicated network of volunteers and neighbors, we successfully gathered more than enough signatures from local registered voters, which were formally audited and qualified by the County Clerk,” she said on her campaign website. “This accomplishment belongs to the people of McDonald County.”

Because enough individuals signed to support her bid for the seat, Jonica Bridenstine’s name will now appear on the ballot for voters in the November 3 election.

Bridenstine says this “proves there is a powerful collective drive to ensure our local leadership remains independent, accountable, and focused entirely on our community, rather than outside corporate influence.”

Her campaign – with the slogan of “McDonald County Deserves a Choice” – is geared toward mobilizing McDonald County voters by providing another reason to participate in the next election. If the status quo were to be left unchallenged, this race would have been decided at the Primary by twenty percent of the voting population.

Being raised in a traditional Republican household and voting for both Democrats and Republicans in elections, she says she is a “true Independent, both in name and practice.”

According to her campaign website, her priority is not to a political party. Her priority is to the families of McDonald County.

“An elected representative’s sole duty is to serve the entire constituency, free from the influence of corporate donors seeking favor or party platforms.”

Professionally, Bridenstine has spent almost 10 years in Public Assistance Disaster Recovery where she balances community infrastructure reimbursement and oversight of taxpayer dollars. She leads a team of more than 20 individuals, maintaining multi-million-dollar projects in coordination with over 15 rural electrical cooperatives and municipal electric utilities.

The Presiding Commissioner seat she is running for is the head of the county commission and is the chief executive and administrative position for the county government, along with associate commissioners from each district. It is a four-year term.

Bridenstine’s says on her website, “We have a long way to go and a short time to get there [before November] … to do what they say can’t be done, we’re going to need votes.”

She is encouraging McDonald County citizens that have not registered to vote to do so before the October 7 deadline. The election will be held on November 3.

Visit her campaign website at www.jonica4mc.com for more information and to see how you can support her campaign.