The Norfolk Country Club played host to the The Madison County Republicans County Convention Wednesday. Where various candidates spoke to their constituents in hopes of drawing their vote on election day.
Steve Sunderman, the Vice Chair of the Madison County Republicans, feels that the immense amount of competition in this years election is a good for the voters.
"As a republican I think competition is a good thing, whether that’s in markets or political races," Sunderman said.
"And I think that it just really allows that better discussions and debates of the issues and I think that not only do we get a better qualified candidate at the end, because of competition, but i think it’s better for the constituents to have those discussions on the issues."
Sunderman also believes that the most competition this election will be for county sheriff, a race that he thinks will really draw voters out to the polls.
"This county sheriff race is definitely going to draw the most people out. I think that's largely because we haven’t had a competitive open seat for that race in a number of years, a number of decades and so we’ve had quite a few qualified candidates (this year).
Those candidates will have until the May 15th primary to try and win over votes.
Notes:Sec. of State Candidate Bob Evnen: a proponent of voter ID laws, wants to confirm citizenship of all voters, led the Nebraskans for the Death Penalty interest group, would use his spot on the Pardons Board to hold criminals accountable, would use his status as Sec. of State to try to expand international trade
State Treasurer Candidate Taylor Royal: wants to be a good steward for taxpayer dollars, would try to improve the state’s 529 plans, would create programs to educate high schoolers on finances
Madison County Register of Deeds Candidate Diane Nykodym: has worked at the Office of Deeds for 23 years, says she would bring customer service expertise to the office, wants to encourage the office to embrace technology
Madison County Register of Deeds Candidate Norman Small: is a military veteran, says he has great knowledge of technology, would try to bring GIS technology to the office
County Commissioner Candidate District #1 Rick Benson: stressed his integrity, wants the County Board to go from three to five commissioners, says a county of 36,000 people should have districts of 7,000 - not 12,000
County Commissioner District #1 Ron Schmidt: wants to control the property tax levy from the county, wants to continue to aggressively replace roads and bridges
County Commissioner Candidate District #3 Lee Klein: has vast leadership and political background, is a former county commissioner, thinks the county needs a greater focus on infrastructure and economic development
County Commissioner District #3 James Prauner: thinks the Board has done a good job tending to the physical side of the county, says he has been a fiscally responsible commissioner, says he enjoys talking to the people of the county
County Commissioner Candidate District #3 Troy Uhlir: wants to use the post to grow the population of the county, says his experience as a business owner can help him with management and recruitment skills, would want to be the face for the county to grow and move forward
Sheriff Candidate Jon Downey: is an investigator, says he has developed knowledge of technology and personnel management skills, would try to reschedule shifts to get a 24-hour patrol without needing to increase staff, wants to make services more accessible for the public
Sheriff Candidate Christian Hjorth: has experience as the Police Chief of Madison and Albion, says he excels at budget management
Sheriff Candidate Dave Unger: has experience owning businesses which he says would help him manage employees and the budget
Sheriff Candidate Todd Volk: is a sergeant with the Sheriff’s Department, says he is already exploring ways to improve security at schools
