By Mari Radtke
Tuesday December 7 was the date for a special election for an open O’Brien County Supervisor seat. The District 1 seat was vacated in mid-October when Sherri Bootsma moved out of the county. Iowa law provides that the Auditor, Treasurer and Recorder determine use of appointment or special election. Since Bootsma had most of her term remaining they decided on a special election. He will complete her term.
Each political party is allowed to appoint one candidate to the ballot. There were not Democratic candidates. Two people expressed interest from the Republican party; Tim Overmire and Justin McCarty. Overmire was selected by the O’Brien County Central Committee. The special election does not nullify any interested person’s right to obtain a nomination to be on the ballot or to run a write-in campaign. Overmire received 117 votes. There were 21 write-in ballots cast with 19 going to McCarty. Overmire’s term ends December 21, 2023.