Republican Barb Esfeld, the current Barton County appraiser, squared off against Brandon Steinert, an Independent and director of public relations & marketing for Barton Community College, for the Barton County Commission Second District seat in Tuesday’s general election.
With only the early and advanced votes tallied as of 11 p.m.. Esfeld led with 793 votes to Steinert’s 315.
The votes tallied as of the end of the night Tuesday are only preliminary. The votes won’t be finalized until the Barton County Commission, acting as the Board of Canvassers, canvasses the ballots next Monday morning.
Esfeld is married to Robert Esfeld and together they have four grown children. They reside in Great Bend.
Esfeld moved to Barton County in 2008 when she became the Barton County appraiser. Prior to Barton County she served as the Russell County appraiser for 13 years, and before that, she had been employed by the Ford County Appraiser’s Office since 1986.
Better health and fitness infrastructure in Barton County, like crosswalks, trails and “complete streets,” is the goal for Steinert in his bid.
He grew up in Claflin and currently lives in Great Bend. He attended Kansas State University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in journalism. He has since earned a master’s degree in communication with an emphasis on organizational leadership, and is currently in pursuit of his doctorate in higher education leadership.
Barton County Commission Second District falls entirely within the Great Bend city limits and covers the most of the north central part of the community. It was served for five terms by Homer Kruckenberg who did not seek reelection.
Commissioners serve four-year terms, with two of the five commissioners being elected in the same year, and the other three commissioners elected two years later.
Also on the ballot for County Commission was Shawn Hutchinson who ran unopposed as a Republican in District 3 and had earned 734 early votes. He emerged as the winner from a packed primary in August.
In District 4, Jim Daily, a Republican, ran unopposed gathering 976 early votes.
In April 2019, he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Alicia Straub of Ellinwood who resigned to fill a vacancy for the 113th Kansas House district seat. He is now running for a full term.
