HENNEPIN — It was a night for incumbents in Putnam County, with most races seating existing village presidents and board trustees.
Hennepin village trustee saw a four-way race for three seats; Christian Cyr, Quentin Buffington and Theresa Clausen snagged those spots, besting opponent Lynn Haage.
Putnam County School District saw five candidates vying for four spots. In the end, those seats were earned by Nathanael Bird, Michael Borri, Keith King and Reed Wilson. Jesse Nauman did not garner enough votes for a seat.
McNabb is currently without a village president
The village of McNabb is without a village president, with no one on the ballot for the seat. Putnam County Clerk Dan Kuhn said the village put an ad in the paper for a village president, and his understanding is there is an interested party. During McNabb’s May board meeting, the board will discuss the open seat and should the interested person be present they can vote to appoint a village president.
Voter turnout
Tuesday’s consolidated election brought out just 20% of Putnam County voters, but with only two contested races, Kuhn said that wasn’t unexpected. Kuhn said consolidated elections always bring out fewer voters and this one, combined with few contested spots, just didn’t inspire people to hit the polls.
Of 4,192 registered voters, just 873 cast ballots in the county. Kuhn said there is only one outstanding absentee ballot as of Wednesday morning. Of the ballots counted, 86 were early voters, he reported.