ST. CHARLES, Minn. – The election of a new Winona County Board member Tuesday may pivot on voter turnout. In a primary run-off in May, only 824 votes were cast. Former Altura Mayor Josh Elsing won the run-off with 456. The other two candidates together had 368. Although the margin was wide, the turnout represented only 13% of eligible voters. The hope of Bill Spitzer in the two-candidate election Tuesday is that he will attract:
> Most of the April run-off votes he shared with Pat Heim.
> Most of the voters who skipped the run-off will be in his favor Tuesday.
At issue is the largely rural District 3 seat on the County Board. The seat had been held by Elba farmer Steve Jacob. Jacob was elected three times from District 3, then in 2022 he was elected to state Legislature. Since then his County Board seat has been vacant. The current election has been characterized as the Battle of the Mayors: Elsing once was mayor of Altura, although he lost a re-election bid badly, 126-40, in 2016 and then moved to St. Charles. Spitzer was mayor St. Charles mayor for five terms. He also is a retired Winona County sheriff’s deputy.
Earlier: If elected, Spitzer vows to follow constituents’ will
District 3 profile
St. Charles, with 3,900 residents, is the population center of Winona County’s District 3. Rural voters dominate the largely agricultural district. There is core distrust of governance in the district, which historically its County Board Representatives have characterized as a preference for small government. Many District3 farmers call themselves land-rich and cash poor, which translates as a sometimes reflexive reluctance on school bond issues and tax wariness, and also conservative outlooks.