The candidate-filing period for the Lutsen, Schroeder, and Tofte township March elections is coming soon. Each of the towns will elect a supervisor and a town clerk, and candidates for the offices must file their nomination papers by Jan. 14.
While township elections are sometimes low-key, it might be different this year in Schroeder where the clerk is retiring and in Lutsen where four of the five offices are on the ballot.
The three townships in western Cook County hold annual elections each spring. In each town, one of the three supervisors is elected for a three-year term. The town treasurer and clerk are on the ballot in alternate years for two-year terms. These are the only annual and spring elections in the county.
Lutsen
Lutsen will have a full ballot in March with contests for two of the three supervisors and both township officers. The supervisor contests are for a three-year term for the seat now held by Andrew Beaver and a one-year term for the seat now held by Elis Walch. Walch was appointed in May 2019 to replace Christine Ordemann, whose term ran until 2021.
The two-year term of Clerk Sharon Hexum-Platzer is up and voters must elect a treasurer for the one-year remainder of the two-year term that Paul Goettl was appointed to. Persons appointed to vacant positions serve only until the next election, at which time a person may be elected for the remainder of the term. No one ran for treasurer in the March 2019 election, creating a vacancy.
Schroeder
The Schroeder ballot is a bit simpler. The supervisor seat held by Rick Anderson is up, as is the town clerk position. However, Doug Schwecke, the present clerk, announced last summer that he wants to step down, leaving an open position. As of the December town meeting, no one had expressed an interest in seeking the position even though the town has sought a person willing to come forward now to work as Schwecke’s appointed deputy and learn the duties from him.
Tofte
The seat of Supervisor Craig Horak is up in March for a three-year term. Town clerk Kay Burkett was appointed to her position last May and can run for a full two-year term.
Candidates for the township offices must be a resident and voter in the town. They file an Affidavit of Candidacy nomination paper with the town clerk and pay a $2 filing fee. The filing period starts Dec. 30 and ends at 5 p.m. on Jan. 14.
Background
Township government is very grass roots democracy. Each town holds an annual meeting on the second Tuesday in March where residents gather to make recommendations for the next year’s town budget and discuss town issues. The voters often cast their election ballots when they come to the meeting and the election results are announced during the meeting.
Residents can follow the happenings of their towns on the web sites each township maintains. Those sites contain dates and agendas for upcoming monthly town board meetings and the minutes of past annual meetings. The Tofte web site is currently being redesigned, clerk Kay Burkett said.
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