As voters went to the polls Aug. 11 to cast their vote in the primary, some Litchfield residents also headed to city or school district offices to declare their intention to run for office.
Those two things could create an interesting campaign season between now and the general election Nov. 3.
First, there’s the Meeker County commissioner races in District 2 and 3, where the field of candidates in each race narrowed from three to two in a couple of close primary elections.
Voters in District 2, which includes Litchfield Wards 1 and 5, Litchfield Township, Forest City Township and Harvey Township, chose challengers Julie Bredeson (260 votes) and Greg Gilbertson (213 votes) over incumbent Joe Tacheny (203 votes), according to preliminary results.
Tacheny has served as District 2 commissioner for one term, having been elected in 2016.
The District 2 result means the Meeker County Board will convene in 2021 with a majority of newcomers.
District 3, which includes the cities of Cedar Mills and Comsos, and the townships of Acton, Cedar Mills, Collinwood, Cosmos, Danielson, Ellsworth and Greenleaf, will be served by a new commissioner, as incumbent Bryan Larson chose not to run for reelection.
That brought a field of three to the primary last week, and voters in the district chose Paul M. Johnson (300 votes) and John L. Smith (282) to advance to the general election, according to preliminary results. Tim Benoit finished with 274 votes.
Meanwhile, in District 4, Danny Schiefelbein is the only candidate running for a seat currently held by Mike Housman, who chose not to run.
But that’s only part of the campaign story for Litchfield voters. The city will have three contested City Council races, and nine candidates have filed to compete for three seats on the Litchfield School Board.
The city races see three incumbents each facing one challenger: at-large council member Ron Dingmann will face Holly Flemming; Ward 2 incumbent Darlene Kotelnicki is being challenged by Rick Beecroft; and Ward 4 incumbent Vern Loch Jr. will face challenger John Carlson.
The crowded Litchfield School Board race sees incumbents Chase Groskreutz and Julie Rae Pennertz joined on the ballot by Manny Jasso, Alex Carlson, Malinda Larson, Vanessa Christianson, Steven Skalman, Dan Hansen and Michelle Falling.
