Dawes County Treasurer Sam Wellnitz has decided to run for a second term, which means all the incumbent elected county officials with terms expiring this year are running again.
Wellnitz had said late last week he hadn’t made up his mind and would reach a decision over the weekend, but instead made his choice Friday afternoon and filed just before the County Clerk’s office closed.
Joining Wellnitz in filing for reelection Friday afternoon was Chadron City Council member Mark Werner, who is now seeking his third term.
Werner, the current city council president and mayor, joins fellow incumbent Cheryl Welch on the ballot. Welch filed earlier this month
Also filing for reelection late in the week was incumbent Crawford School Board member J-R Wasserberger. Board member Joe Vogel had filed earlier
Tomorrow is the filing deadline for incumbents, both to seek reelection or for new positions, and there are still three Chadron and Crawford incumbents who have yet to file or say they’re not running.
Those are Chadron City Council member Miles Bannan, Crawford School Board member Marie Wohler, and Crawford City Councilman Ronnie Thompson, who has expressed interest in challenging Mayor Connie Shell.
Shell and councilman Ed Kuhnel have both filed as have all 3 Chadron School Board members whose terms are up – Tom Menke, Sandy Montague-Roes, and Tye Pourier.
At this point, there’s only one contested race in Dawes County and that’s County Commissioner District 2 where 2-term incumbent Vic Rivera will meet Travis Nitsch in the Republican primary.