Three vying for County Commission seat

Three candidates are facing off in the Republican primary for Cole County Western District Commissioner on Aug. 7.

The winner among incumbent Chris Wrigley, Kris Scheperle and Kevin Kelly will face Democrat Len Stella in the November general election.

Wrigley says the reason he's running for re-election is to pursue projects such as planned growth in the unincorporated areas of the county through citizen input about county zoning.

"I feel I have done a good job of producing a balanced budget for the past eight years," Wrigley said, "and want to ensure that Cole County protects the taxpayers' investment in county government by being a good steward of public finances."

Scheperle believes his business experience gives him insights into being efficient and making hard decisions.

"Creating a government that is 100 percent open to the public is important to me," he said. "There should be several open meetings and public presentations before the budget is approved.

"The expense of every dollar should be clearly defined and open for suggestions."