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LAUREL — As of noon Tuesday, no one had filed yet for two vacant seats on the Laurel City Council.
Laurel City Council incumbents June Koester and Jeff Erwin chose not to file for re-election. They had until 5 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 17, to file for office.
Their decisions open up two seats for the C0uncil. Anyone not currently serving in an elected office that wishes to run for city council has until March 2 to file a petition with the Cedar County Clerk’s office.
Cedar County Clerk Jessica Schmit said if no one files for the seats prior to the deadline, someone can still run as a write-in candidate. A write-in candidate must still file paperwork with the County Clerk and pay a filing fee, however, she said.
Laurel voters will also get the chance to decide who will guide the Laurel- Concord-Coleridge School Board this year.
Four seats are open on the Laurel-Concord-Coleridge School Board, but so far only three people have filed paperwork to run for those seats.
Board President Jay Hall and board member Bryan Pippitt are the only incumbents who have filed to retain their seats.
Political newcomer Paul Garcia also filed for one of the open school board seats.
Scott Taylor, who was up for re-election, resigned from the board in January due to health issues. The Board appointed Rich Brandow to fill out Taylor’s unexpired term, but he does not wish to run for another term in office.
Grant Settje is also up for re-election but decided against running for another term in office.
Neb. District 40 Senator Barry DeKay is also up for re-election this year. DeKay, of Niobrara, was first elected to office in 2022.
District 40 represents Cedar, Knox, Holt and Antelope counties. The district also encompasses most of Dixon County and the northern part of Pierce County.
DeKay currently serves as the chairman of the Agriculture Committee.
He also serves on the General Affairs Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.
Two people with Cedar County ties have thrown their hats in the ring to seek the governor’s office.
Randolph native Sheila J. Korth-Focken is also running for office. She has filed as a Republican to face Gov. Jim Pillen in the May primary election.
Former state senator Lynne Walz is seeking the Governor’s seat on the Democratic ticket. Walz is married to Hartington native Chris Walz.
Anyone wishing to vote in the May 12 primary election has until April 26 to register to vote if they do so by mail, online, or at a State DMV office.
Anyone wishing to register in person at the County Clerk’s office, can do so until the end of the work day on May 1. These same deadlines apply for anyone wishing to change their party affiliation.
The Secretary of State’s office reports there are currently 5,731 registered voters in Cedar County. Of those, 4,019 are resistered as Republican and 889 are registered as Democrats. There are 767 Cedar County residents registered as Non-partisan or Independent.
