By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
A big win in the August primary election all but secured Donna Zimmerman's seat as the Barton County Commissioner for District 5. Tuesday's general election result made it official. After 40 years of service to the county, including 26 years as county clerk, Zimmerman said she's ready to serve again in her new role.
"It was hard to retire from the office of county clerk, but I knew it was time to move on and do something different," she said. "I'm super excited to be back and be part of the county structure again."
In the primary election, Zimmerman secured 834 votes compared to 507 votes for Rick Davis. Running uncontested in Tuesday's general election, Zimmerman won 1,802 votes against 14 write-in votes.
Zimmerman will join incoming commissioners Tricia Schlessiger and Duane Reif, and the trio will replace outgoing commissioners Jennifer Schartz, Jon Prescott, and Kirby Krier. Zimmerman said the new group is ready to hit the ground running.
"All three of us have attended many of the commission meetings, trying to stay abreast of what's going on," she said. "There's a huge project coming up, which is the HVAC system for the courthouse. I think it's been imperative that everyone stays on top of what's going on and the changes happening with that project."
The three new commissioners will be sworn on Jan. 11, 2023.