Jones County residents petition for sheriff’s election

Jones County residents will vote on a new sheriff after all.

County supervisors voted Tuesday morning to set Oct. 4 as the special election date, a response to a petition delivered Friday calling for a public vote to fill the office left vacant by the resignation of former sheriff Mark Denniston.

County supervisors appointed former Linn County Deputy Harvey Desotel July 1 to serve the remaining 15 months of Denniston's term, but the special election makes him an acting sheriff.

County Auditor Janine Sulzner reported 1,028 eligible voters signed the petition. Only 774 signatures were required to force the election.

Sulzner recommended the October date, noting her “responsibility to voters to provide a fair election process which is the least confusing to voters, and at the earliest practical date considering many factors, including the various resources available to manage and conduct a county-wide election.”

Sulzner will notify the county Republican and Democratic parties to reconvene their county convention to select their party's nominee for the ballot. Each party may select only one candidate to be placed on the ballot. Persons not affiliated with either party may become a non-partisan candidate by filing a petition with the Sulzner's office with the signatures of 140 eligible Jones County voters.

Nomination petitions and convention certificates must be filed with Sulzner's office by Sept. 9.

The winner of the special election becomes sheriff with the official canvass of votes Oct. 11.

According to Sulzner, a county-wide special election will cost between $15,000 and $18,000. To help reduce costs, voting precincts will be combined to provide for only 9 polling sites. Absentee ballots are expected to be available approximately September 20, 2011.