Joint Election Slated For April 9
BELLE FOURCHE –– The city council and school district recently announced vacancies in a combined total of nine seats open for the upcoming combined election slated for April 9.
Election petitions will be available Jan. 25 to those seeking to run for election. Completed petitions are due no later than 5 p.m. on Feb. 23.
The city has five positions coming available for election – one seat in each of the four wards, and the mayor. Each of the city’s elected seats carry a three-year term.
Mayor Randy Schmidt was elected in April 2021 after serving a four-year term as a Ward 4 councilmember. His term will expire in June.
Councilmember Heidi Parker was elected to the Ward 1 council seat in July 2021 and her seat will be open for election.
In Ward 2, the seat currently held by Councilmember Lee Capp, elected in July 2023, will come available. Capp was elected to the seat via a special election, held July 25, 2023, after Derrick Erhart’s May 2023 resignation. Erhart was elected to the council in 2021.
The seat held by Ward 3 Councilmember Randy Sowers, elected in April 2021, will be open for election. Sowers has also served as the council president since May 2023.
Lastly, the seat for Ward 4 Councilmember Tricia Fowler, elected for a six-month term in October 2023, will be available. Fowler was elected to fill the seat vacated by Rebecca Larson in August 2023.
The school board has four at-large vacancies up for election. Three of those hold three-year terms and one seat holds a one-year term.
The three-year term seats coming open are currently held by Nita Justice, Tara Knapp, and Greg Krajewski. Justice, Knapp, and Krajewski were all elected to the board in April 2021.
The one-year termed seat open is currently held by Kelly Keegan, who was appointed by a board vote on Sept. 11, 2023. Keegan replaced Jade Larson, who was elected to the position in April 2022 and resigned in August 2023.
The city and school district have commonly held a combined election with the intentions of saving tax dollars and encouraging better voter turnout for all entities.
