The deadline has passed for Nebraska incumbents to file for this year’s election, either to keep their current office or to seek another. Non-incumbents have 2 more weeks until March 1st to file.
All Dawes County incumbents except two are running for their current positions. The last one to file was Crawford City Council member Ronnie Thompson, who did it Tuesday afternoon at City Hall.
The two choosing not to run again are Crawford School Board member Marie Wohlers and Chadron City Council member Miles Bannan, who is finishing his second 4-year term and has served as both Mayor and Vice-Mayor.
     A clerk at the Chadron Post Office, Bannan says his life is changing and he feels it’s time for some new life adventures.
At this point, there is only one contested race in the primary and one in the November election.
2-term District 2 County Commissioner Vic Rivera is being challenged in the Republican primary by rancher-businessman Travis Nitsch while Kevin Oleksy is the fourth person to file for the Chadron school board.
Oleksy is a Chadron State College graduate and former reporter for the Chadron Record who has been a Walmart associate for the past several years, currently working in the pharmacy.
He joins the 3 incumbents – Tom Menke, Tye Pourier, and Sandy Montague-Roes – on the ballot, but since there can be up to 6 candidates on the November ballot, the school board won’t be on the primary ballot unless 3 more individuals file.