The election is not until June, but one Mammoth resident has already announced that he plans to run for the position of First District Mono Supervisor. Larry Johnston is currently the Assistant Community Development Director for Mono County. Last week the Mammoth resident announced plans to run for the supervisor position that represents the southeast portion of the Town of Mammoth Lakes.

Tom Farnetti is currently serving as the First District Supervisor and has for a number of years, but reports indicate that he does not plan to run for re-election. This would leave Johnston as the only candidate for the position at this early stage.

Candidates cannot pick up the paperwork to run for the position until January first, but Johnston decided to get an early start on the campaign. He explained that the early entry into the race allows him to talk to the community to hear their needs and desires and get a pulse on the economic conditions out there.

According to Johnston, the early entry also allows him to talk to county department heads and get up to speed on budget issues.

In other potential Mono election news, the replacement of the empty seat left by the untimely death of Fourth District Supervisor Bill Reid remains an uncertain situation. The Governor has the option to appoint a replacement or put the issue of replacement up to the voters at the nearest election. When Fourth District Supervisor John Cecil passed away in 2006, the Governor let an election resolve the vacancy.

This time around the situation may be different. At last report, County Administrator Dave Wilbrecht reports that the Governor has not sent word either way. The Mono Supervisors have officially decided to let the governor decide. In the meantime, Wilbrecht says that reports indicate the Governor has heard from five interested parties seeking the position of Fourth District Supervisor.