GOSHEN COUNTY – Justin Burkart said he has a lot of work to do before January.

His first job, he said, will be educating himself further on the ins and outs of county government.

Burkart garnered just more than 40% of the votes in Tuesday’s primary election, outpacing fellow challenger Cecil Sauer 1,179 to 1,035 votes, as well as incumbent Russell “Pinky” Walter’s 710 votes for the seat Walter has held since his appointment in September 2019 to the Goshen County Commission.

Though it was technically a primary, no Democrats were on the ballot for the seat, so Burkart is the presumptive winner, barring a write-in campaign in November, he said. There were 12 write-in votes cast on the Republican side and 62 on the Democratic side.

But he’s operating on the premise he will be joining the commission on Jan. 1. He knew in his heart he’d won when contacted by The Telegram shortly after the polls closed on Tuesday, but he was having trouble wrapping his head around the fact, he said.

“I know the results are in, but it hasn’t hit me yet,” Burkart said. “It doesn’t even feel real yet, I guess.”

Burkart said his relative youth is balanced by experience he wants to bring to the county commission. His age and experience also will help him “relate to a lot of the residents of Goshen County. 

“I have a lot of experience in some of the government functions,” Burkart said. “Even though I’m younger, I can bring that experience to the table.”

When he takes office in January, the first order of business will be the budget process for the county in a time of shrinking revenue from the state and other sources, he said. 

“We’re anticipating some large budget cuts from the state; revenue is down significantly,” Burkart said. “The first goal will be to make sure we’re meeting the county’s needs with the funds available.”

After that, Burkart said he’d like to focus on economic development, bringing the various communities in Goshen County together to work for the good of the whole.

“I’d like to sit down with all the communities, work on economic development, see if we can’t come up with some plans to work together,” Burkart said. “Now, it seems all the towns work independently of each other.”

Developing a five-year comprehensive plan for economic development to bring business to the county would be a step in the right direction, he said.

“That would be my big focus,” he said. “Bringing everybody together, working at the same table for the benefit of everyone.”

But, between now and January, Burkart said he’ll be taking himself back to school. He’s been attending commission meetings since he decided to run for office and has learned some of how the body operates, he said. 

“I want to start meeting with department heads, economic development, work to understand some of the process I don’t know about yet,” Burkart said. “I’m going to do a lot of educating myself over the next several months.”

Election results as reported by the Goshen County Clerk’s office remain unofficial until the local canvassing board meets. Clerk Cindy Kenyon said Wednesday the board, consisting of herself and representatives of both Democratic and Republican parties, would meet Thursday to review elections results.