Nearly one-third vote in primary
The Barton County Clerk’s Office reports that 5,569 ballots were cast in Tuesday’s primary election, which is 32.85 percent of those registered. There were 4,878 ballots cast by Republicans, and 691 by Democrats.
County Clerk/Election Officer Donna Zimmerman noted before the election that turnout is always lower in a primary than in the general election. But a number of races were decided in Tuesday’s primary, which may account for the high turnout. In August of 2008, voter turnout at the primary at 20.6 percent, and in the 2010 primary it was 28.5 percent.
Lt. Brian J. Bellendir bested incumbent Greg Armstrong and former Lt. Richard W. Unrein to win the Republican primary for Barton County Sheriff. His will be the only name on the ballot for that office in November. With votes from all 40 precincts counted for the unofficial total Tuesday night, Bellendir led with 2,262 votes, or 46.94 percent. Armstrong had 37.6 percent with 1,812 votes, and Unrein trailed with 15.46 percent, 745 votes.
No Democrat is running for the sheriff’s office. Another employee at the sheriff’s office, detention officer Warren Peterson, attempted to gather 666 petition signatures so he could run as an Independent candidate in November, but fell short of his goal. The deadline for turning in petitions was Monday.
Advance ballots were counted and posted by the Barton County Clerk’s Office at 7:34 p.m. Tuesday. Those ballots included 1,027 Republican voters and 137 Democrat voters. Bellendir’s commanding lead was apparent early on. He received 521 advance votes – 51 percent. Armstrong received 38.2 percent of the advanced totals with 390 votes, while Unrein, who left the Barton County Sheriff’s Office four years ago when Armstrong was elected, received 10.77 percent of the early ballots with 110 votes.
Bellendir was cautiously optimistic after receiving news of the early voting, but noted there were still many more votes left to count.
“I hope this trend carries the rest of the night,” he said.
He attributed his election success to “hard work.”
“We came out early ... and campaigned hard,” he said, adding he was still going door to door on Monday. “We contacted the people, and obviously it’s up to the general public.
“I think it was an honest and open campaign on everyone’s part,” he said. When he takes over as sheriff in January, he said, “We do plan on working on some of the problems in Barton County.” Bellendir said the biggest problems facing local law enforcement are methamphetamine use and theft, “which are directly related.” One of the first things he plans to do when he takes office is to reassign the BCSO K-9 to its own special shift, rather than a regular patrol, so the dog can be available for more drug cases.
Bellendir campaigned as a life-long resident of Barton County with 27 years in law enforcement, starting as a reserve officer when Gene Marks was sheriff.
Armstrong also campaigned on the experience of over 30 years in law enforcement, starting with the Garden City Police Department. He retired from the Kansas Highway Patrol with 28 years. He defeated Sheriff Buck Causey as an Independent candidate in the 2008 election.
Bellendir never attacked his opponents directly, but often commented during his campaign, “This isn’t my retirement job. I’m not a part-time officer from somewhere; I’m a career sheriff’s officer.”
When contacted by the Great Bend Tribune Tuesday night, Armstrong said he wanted to thank the people who supported the changes he made in the sheriff’s department in the last three and a half years, starting with upgrading equipment. “I would like to thank all of the supporters,” he said. “I’m gratefully appreciative of all of them.”
Unrein had extensive law enforcement experience as well, and said in campaign materials he more management experience than either candidate. Instead of paying the filing fee, he went door to door gathering over 300 petition signatures to earn his spot on the Republican ballot. But he was outspent by both candidates.
“I want to thank my wife and son and all the volunteers that worked so hard to give me the chance to get elected,” Unrein said, adding he was impressed by the voter turnout.
