Two County Board candidates pursue write-in campaigns

Two candidates have announced they will run write-in campaigns seeking seats on the McLeod County Board.

Oather “Marty” Martin took third place in the Sept. 9 primary election for 3rd District McLeod County Commissioner. He had 213 votes to Paul Wright’s 265 and Becky Felling’s 239.

Martin announced his candidacy before the McLeod County Board Tuesday (Sept. 16) during the meeting’s public comment forum. “I feel that my supporters would want me to continue on,” he said.

Martin has cited the close results and relatively low turnout for the primary race as reasons for not giving up.

Bayerl gets a challenger
Craig Schultz of Silver Lake announced last week he will run a write-in campaign against incumbent County Commissioner Ray Bayerl, who represents McLeod County’s 1st District.

Schultz grew up on a farm near the Buffalo Lake and Hector area, and has lived in McLeod County for about 16 years. He was a maintenance engineer for the County Highway Department for 10 years, before becoming a building inspector for the city of Chaska. He is currently a building inspector for Meeker County and has worked in that field for about 10 years.

Schultz said he wants to bring industry and jobs to the county. He feels his experience working with city and county governments has prepared him for public office. “You see what works, what doesn’t work,” he said.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)