Changes for Ward County Commission

By KIM FUNDINGSLAND, Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com

It was a late night at the Ward County auditor's office as more than 4,000 absentee ballots had to be counted after vote totals from all 32 precincts were received at the courthouse.

At stake was one of the most talked about races on Tuesday's ballot, six men contending for three seats on the county commission. Current Ward County Commission chairman Carroll Erickson and newcomer Jack Nybakken proved to be the top two vote-getters. Nybakken garnered an unofficial total of 14,429 and Erickson 13,535.

Incumbent Jim Lee, a long-time board member who was known as a budget "watchdog" and whose abrupt style often rankled fellow commissioners, was engaged in a close contest with Bruce Christianson for the third and final open spot on the five-member commission. At the halfway point, with 16 of 32 precincts reporting, Lee trailed by just eight votes. However, Christianson began to slowly pull away and grabbed the final spot on the commission. Christianson received 11,146 votes to Lee's 10,487.

Challenger Andrew Maragos, Minot, finished just 114 votes out of the top three in the primary but couldn't make up the difference in Tuesday's general election. Unofficial vote totals had Maragos with 9,414 and Luis Coca, Jr., with 3,945.

Erickson has been serving as chairman of the Ward County Commission. The remainder of the board is comprised of vice-chairman John Fjeldahl, Berthold and Jerome Gruenberg, Burlington, both of whom were not up for re-election. Commissioner Darlene Watne chose not to run for another term, opening an extra commission seat up for election.

Erickson said he was very happy with his showing and said he was ready to get back to the work of running the county.

"We've got a lot of work to do. Minot is sitting in a very unique spot at this time with oil development and base expansion and many other things that are going on," said Erickson. "I'm quite concerned about the roads in the county. Other counties with oil are having a difficult time at this point. We'll have to see where we can obtain funds to keep those roads in shape."

The run for Ward County Commission was a first for Nybakken, a retired educator and current service coordinator at Henry Towers.

"I'm pleased with the voters in general and for the Ward County residents giving me a vote of confidence," said Nybakken. "I'm going to have an opportunity to serve as Ward County commissioner. There's some positive things in the county but there's also some concerns that we need to address."