Ex-council member running for county seat

A Tonganoxie City Council member will face off in a Leavenworth County Commission race against the former city administrator whose contract he voted not to renew.

Other contested races are:

County attorney: incumbent Todd Thompson, 36, R-Leavenworth, against Patrick Cahill, 55, D-Leavenworth.

County treasurer: incumbent Janice Dickson, 46, R-Leavenworth, against Thomas Koch, 50, D-Leavenworth.

County Commission: 2nd District, incumbent Clyde Graeber, 78, Leavenworth Republican, takes on challenger Ralph Dix, 66, Leavenworth, in the Aug. 7 primary. The winner will meet Leavenworth Democrat Donald Terrien, 37, in the Nov. 6 general election.

Tonganoxie City Council member Dennis Bixby, 51, a Tonganoxie Republican, will meet Mike Yanez, 62, a Tonganoxie Democrat, in the November general election for the 3rd District commission seat.

Friday was the filing deadline for this year’s election, with some candidates filing in the days before the deadline, according to County Clerk Janet Klasinski.

On a 3-2 vote, the Tonganoxie City Council voted not to renew Yanez’s contract. He was retained on a part-time basis from January until mid-May when a new city administrator was hired. Bixby, 51, filed in late March; Yanez, 62, filed on Thursday. Basehor Republican John Flower, current 3rd District commissioner, is not seeking re-election.

In the sheriff’s race, Andy Dedeke, a rural Easton Republican, will meet Burdel Welsh, a Tonganoxie Democrat. Dedeke, 41, serves as captain in the sheriff’s office; Welsh worked two stints in the sheriff’s office, including five years an undersheriff. Dedeke, 41, filed for the seat in February; Welsh, 55, a former Tonganoxie City Council member, filed Thursday. Sheriff Dave Zoellner, a Leavenworth Democrat, did not seek re-election.