Primary election field set

Tom Milstead
Posted 6/5/20

The field for the 2020 Goshen County Primary Elections are set, and the candidates for one seat on the Goshen County Board of Commissioners and two seats on the Torrington City Council have emerged.

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Primary election field set

Posted

TORRINGTON – The field for the 2020 Goshen County Primary Elections are set, and the candidates for one seat on the Goshen County Board of Commissioners and two seats on the Torrington City Council have emerged. 

Notably absent from the list is sitting Councilman Bill Law, who’s announced he will not seek re-election. Law will serve out the remainder of his term, which will encompass the rest of the year, but he said it was time for someone else to take the seat. 

“It was just time,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed it. It was a good run. I certainly had no hang-ups and no reason not to run, but I wanted to make room for other people.”

The other open seat on the council was vacated by Matt Mattis, who moved outside of the city limits. 

A field of three candidates filed paperwork to fill the spots on the dais. Former councilman and mayoral candidate Dennis Kelly, retired Eastern Wyoming College President Rick Patterson, and former Torrington Police Chief Eric Sharp.

“There are three in the community who have turned in forms indicating their willingness to run for the open city council seats,” Adams said. “Their names will appear on the ballot during the primary election in August, and they will continue on the general election in November. Two of the three will be selected to begin serving on Jan. 1, 2021.”

The Goshen County Board of Commissioners has one seat up for grabs, and there are three Republican candidates for the position. One will advance to the general election. 

Yoder Volunteer Fire Department Assistant Chief Justin Burkart, who also serves as the town’s grant officer, has filed paperwork to run for the open seat, as has Cecil Sauer. Sauer is a mechanic and former candidate for the Eastern Wyoming College Board of Trustees. 

Incumbent Russell ‘Pinky’ Walter will be vying to keep his seat, which he was appointed to in September 2019. He said in March that he has the time to be an effective commissioner and is committed to being involved. 

“It’s just interesting,” he said. “There comes a point in everybody’s life when you want to get involved and when you’re younger, you don’t have the time. It’s about looking beyond the facts and looking beneath the table. Not everything is what it seems to be.”

When Burkart declared his candidacy, he said he would be able to fit into the board seamlessly, and make an immediate impact in the search for grant funding. 

“I can hit the ground running,” he said. “I already know what the issues are, I know what the daily problems are with the county and I already have an idea of how to handle some of those issues. 

“I’m someone who likes to be a leader in the community. I’ve been involved in projects throughout the county for years, and I figured this would be the next step to help out and take a bigger step in the county to help out.”

Sauer said his main focus is on the county budget. 

“I just felt like I needed to step up and be part of the county leadership,” Sauer said. “There have been rumblings of raising property taxes and I don’t think that’s necessary. I think we need to manage the money we’ve got instead of raising property taxes.”

Aaron Nab, who campaigned heavily on social media, did not file candidate paperwork by the end of the sign-up period. He has launched a write-in campaign.