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Jerry Reinartz has filed to run for a fourth term as councilman in District 3 of the Mower County Board of Commissioners.

He will have a challenger in Jason Duffy.

Reinartz was first elected to the board in 2011, having lived in Mower County his entire life.

It’s been a real honor to serve my district,” Reinartz said. “I know the people real well and it’s been very interesting with lots to learn on the board.”

While the board is tasked with decision making on several fronts, Reinartz said that the base of the important work is meeting the needs of constituents whenever possible.

“The big things are to work to ensure citizen’s concerns are met, state mandates are met …” he said, while praising the work this board of commissioners have done during their time. “I think we have a great board. We don’t always agree. I’ve voted against motions of the others, but we just move on. Our main goal is to do the best we can for the least amount of money.”

Reinartz said it was always his intention to run for another term in District 3, which encompasses a large swath of southern Mower County including the communities of Lyle and Rose Creek  and parts of Austin.

He points to his knowledge of being from the county, originally living in Lyle before moving to Austin, as being a motivator for continuing to serve the people. One of those points of service Reinartz has been proud of is continued vote against raises for the county board members.

“Every year I’ve voted against increases in pay for county commissioners,” he said. “We’re elected to keep this budget as reasonable as we can for taxpayers.”

If reelected, Reinartz said he will continue to dig into the work to represent county concerns.

“It wasn’t something I thought of three terms ago … as long as I’m still enthused about the job,” Reinartz said. “It’s a satisfying thing knowing you’re helping serve the rest of the people in the county.”

Duffy is making his first run for county commission, though its not his first stint in serving the county. He is currently serving on the Mower County Fair Board where he is the treasurer. He is also the chair of the Purple Ribbon Plaza Committee.

“I’ve kind of seen how the county role works and I’m really intrigued by it,” Duffy said. “I just want to continue to develop more leadership and try to bring some new ideas [to the board].”

Duffy was born and raised in Austin and is a small business owner of Duffy’s BP on the west edge of Austin.

He said he believes his experience in this area can help lend to serving on the board.

“I can bring the idea of new infrastructure and new ways of doing things, even in technology,” he said.

For the time being, Duffy’s goal would be to learn as much as he can about the process of serving on the board of commissioners.

He plans on doing that by attending more meetings to begin getting a feel for it all, however, he said should he be elected, his goals would settle on a couple key areas after talking with people in the county.

“I want to learn as much as I possibly can,” Duffy said. “Talking with some people from District 3 there are some concerns. Property taxes are the No. 1 thing everybody comments on and then property values.”

At the same time, Duffy is hoping to use the board platform as a way to highlight what the county has.

“I’m born and raised here and I want the best for Mower County,” Duffy said. “People move here because of what we have to offer and there’s no reason not to.”

“I’ve appreciated all of the support I’ve gotten from the community so far,” he added. “It’s been overwhelming.”