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HARTINGTON – Two political newcomers will face off this May for a four-year term on the Cedar County Board of Commissioners.
Mike Meier, Laurel, and John Thelen, Randolph, have both filed to fill the District 2 commissioner seat being vacated by Craig Bartels, Belden.
Bartels originally filed for the seat, but then decided he did not wish to run for a third term.
Both Meier and Thelen are Republicans, so they will compete in the May 14 primary election.
District 2 covers all of southern Cedar County, including the communities of Belden, Coleridge, Laurel, Magnet and Randolph.
This is the second time Thelen has filed for the seat. He challenged Bartels in the 2020 primary election. Thelen is best known for his court cases with Cedar County over right-of-way complaints against him.
The deadline for newcomers to file for this year’s city, school, state and county elections was March 1.
Anyone interested in seeking an elective office for one of these governmental entities must now file as a write-in candidate in order to do so.
The deadline for incumbents to file for village boards, regional public power districts and natural resources districts is July 15. Non-incumbents have until Aug. 1 to file and have their names on the November general election ballot.
Cedar County Clerk Jessica Schmit said there will be very few local races on the primary election ballot.
Voters in southern Cedar County will get to decide between Meier and Thelen, while voters in the Randolph Public Schools district will be able to whittle down the list of school board candidates. Eight candidates filed for the three open seats on the Randolph School Board.
Cody Backer, Tiffany Gatzemeyer, Anson Dockhorn, Corby Robinson, Lucas Stueckrath, Ted Thelen, Marvin Nordhues and Chris Winkelbauer all filed prior to the March 1 deadline. Since the number of candidates is more than double the number of openings, voters will whittle the list down in May.
Voters in the city of Hartington can decide the fate of a bond issue for a new city maintenance shop and for moving and refurbishing the Skylon Ballroom and turning the facility into a community center.
Several important deadlines for people wishing to vote in the 2024 May primary election are fast approaching.
Anyone wishing to register to vote online or through the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles must do so by the end of the day April 29.
People can still register to vote in person at the Cedar County Clerk’s Office through May 3, which is also the deadline for anyone wishing to get into the election as a write-in candidate.
Anyone who still wants to run for public office must file a notarized affidavit with the County Clerk's Office as a writein by 5 p.m., May 3. While that person’s name will not appear on the ballot, the filing allows county election officials to count the write-in. If no such affidavit is filed, write-in votes will not be counted.
Primary election ballots for voters will be mailed out on April 24 and need to be returned to the County Clerk’s Office by 8 p.m. May 14.
