Six file for Ward County Commission
By JILL SCHRAMM, Staff Writer, jschramm@minotdailynews.com
POSTED: April 13, 2008
Six candidates have filed for three seats on the Ward County Commission.
Incumbents Carroll Erickson of Minot and Jim Lee of Max are seeking re-election. Also running are Andrew Maragos, Luis Coca Jr., Jack Nybakken and Bruce I. Christianson, all Minot.
Incumbent Darlene Watne is not seeking re-election.
The six candidates who will be on the June 10 primary ballot will all advance to the general election.
Erickson is a former Minot police chief and mayor who is seeking his second term.
Lee served 16 years on the commission before stepping down. He later ran again and was elected eight years ago. He is a semi-retired farmer who serves on the Minot Farmers Elevator Board, as deacon of First Assembly of God Church in Minot and on the All Seasons Arena Board.
Coca is a retired police officer. He currently works part-time in pastoring a church in Kief, as a fill-in bus driver and as a fill-in police officer for area departments. He is a former Burlington police chief and former employee of the Ward County Sheriff’s Office. Coca spent five years working on the narcotics task force.
He spent 20 years in the military, which included time in Vietnam. He had been stationed with the Air Force in Minot on three occasions and has made Minot his home since 1984.
Maragos is a lifelong resident of Ward County. He served seven sessions in the North Dakota House of Representatives and on the House’s Political Subdivisions Committee, which deals with county legislation.
He works part-time for Amtrak and serves on the North Dakota Consensus Council, a non-profit organization that brings diverse viewpoints together to seek common ground on local to international levels.
Christianson is general manager for Magic City Financial Group. He is past president of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education and served 20 years on the Minot City Council.
He has headed many of the boards on which he has served. He has served on the All Seasons Arena Commission, Minot State University Board of Regents, Rotary Club, Minot Area Chamber of Commerce and Minot State University Development Foundation. He has been actively involved in military affairs, both with the chamber and with base retention committees. He is a member of the Minot Board of Realtors and National Association of Realtors.
Nybakken is service coordinator at Henry Towers. A lifelong resident of Minot, he worked in education for 22 years, including teaching and administration.
He is active in the Norsk Høstfest Guardian Program and is vice president of the Minot Public Schools Foundation Board. He chairs the Mutual Ministry Committee and serves on the Foundation Board at First Lutheran Church.
As an educator, Nybakken served on the Souris Valley Special Services Board and was involved in professional associations. He currently belongs to the American Association of Service Coordinators.
