Douty files for county

3 file for Cummings’ vacancy

By Lee Bonorden (Contact) | Austin Daily Herald

Published Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Sarah Douty has entered the Mower County Commissioner race for the 2nd District seat on the county board.

Douty will oppose three-term incumbent Ray Tucker in the Tuesday, Nov. 4 election.

The race for Mower County Commissioner District No. 1 will require a primary contest. Three candidates filed for the office.

Tim Gabrielson, Kathy Stutzman and Dan Vermilyea are all vying for the 1st District county board seat.

Incumbent county commissioner Richard P. Cummings announced a month ago he will not seek re-election to the county board seat after 32 years of public service.

Douty, a rural Adams resident, is currently the part-time coordinator for the Austin Main Street Project. She is a former weather anchor and reporter, and was elected to the Adams City Council for 2000 to 2002 and to the Adams Township Board for 2003 to 2006.

Tucker is a tiling contractor based at Dexter.

The 2nd District includes the entire two-thirds of eastern Mower County.

Gabrielson is an Austin insurance sales executive; Stutzman is an advocate and activist at the Parenting Resource Center, Inc.; and Vermilyea is a rural Austin farmer and Steele County feedlot enforcement officer.

None of the 1st District candidates has prior elective office experience.

The 1st District includes the cities of Mapleview, Brownsdale and Waltham and the townships of Lansing, Red Rock, Udolpho and Waltham, plus the 1st Ward, 1st Precinct in northwest Austin.

The filing period ended Tuesday with three incumbent Mower County Soil and Water Conservation District supervisors also filing for re-election: James Gebhardt, rural Waltham; Richard Gehling, rural Grand Meadow; and Jon Erichson, Austin.

Both the county commissioner and SWCD supervisor offices are four-year terms.

The entire Minnesota House faces re-election this year.

State Reps. Jeanne Poppe and Robin Brown are each seeking re-election.

Brian Thiel, a Republican, is challenging Poppe and Erik Larsen is challenging Brown.

Brownsdale farmer Stephen Williams is the Independence Party-endorsed candidate for the Ul.S. Senate.

After the State Primary election pares down the list of candidates Sept. 9, the State General Election takes place Nov. 4.

Mower County Auditor-Treasurer Doug Groh will be making his “debut” in the 2008 elections.

This marks the first election in three decades that former long-time Mower County Auditor Woody Vereide will not be a part of the process.

For more election information, contact Groh at 437-9535 or go online to www.candidates.sos.state.mn.us