Crowded field for District 30 seats

The fields are set for the June 4 election, and a crowded field for both District 30 representative and senator headlines the local elections that will take place in late spring.
There are seven candidates for two District 30 seats in the state House of Representatives, including incumbent Republican Trish Ladner. She will be joined in the field by Custer’s Pat Baumann and Stephen Saint, as well as  Matt Smith of Hermosa, Matthew Monfore of Hot Springs and former District 30 representative Tim Goodwin, who lives north of Hill City. Incumbent Dennis Krull has opted not to seek reelection. Democrat Susan Scheirbeck of Hill City will await the two primary winners in the fall general election.
The District 30 Senate race has three Republican candidates, including incumbent Julie Frye-Mueller of Rapid City. She will be joined on the Republican ticket by Amber Hulse of Hot Springs and Forrest Foster of Rapid City. The winner of June’s primary will face Democrat Bret Swanson of Hermosa in the fall.
Both the House and Senate seats are two-year terms. Independent candidates can still file for the general election in the legislative races until April 30.
In the race for Custer County Commission, incumbent Republicans Mark Hartman and Mike Busskohl both seek reelection to a new four-year term. They are uncontested in the primary, but will face Democrat Colton Jones of Hermosa in the fall.
The two other open county seats—state’s attorney and coroner—will not be contested as only the incumbents, Tracy Kelley and Jim Sanders, respectively, filed to fill the four-year terms for those positions.
The Custer School District Board of Education will have an election, as incumbents Jeff Barnes and Jeff Prior both seek reelection to another three-year term, and will be joined in the race by fellow Custer resident Heath Reindl.
There will be one election for Custer City Council. In Ward I, incumbent Dixie Whittaker will face challenger Bruce Miller for a two-year term. In Ward II, incumbent Julie Jenniges will run unopposed for another two-year term, as will Todd Pechota in Ward III.
 There will be one race for seats on the Town of Hermosa Board of Trustees, as Kelburn Koontz and Aaron Serviss will square off for a two-year term. This seat will replace former board president Jerry Styles, who resigned last month.
A three-year term on the board is also available and will be filled by Shanna Harris, the only candidate to file a petition to fill that position. Harris will replace current board president Dan Holsworth, who has reached the newly-instituted term limits for Hermosa and cannot seek a position on the town board for six years.
There is one seat available in Fairburn, that being a three-year term that will be filled by Debra Patterson. Patterson is the only resident who filed a petition to replace outgoing  Dean Weekley, who did not seek reelection.
In Buffalo Gap, there is one three-year seat available. Daniel Frieden’s seat is up, and he has chosen not to seek reelection. Running for the seat are Kevin Molloy and Glenn A. Scofield of Buffalo Gap. That election will be contested next week.
Finally, at the Elk Mountain School District, incumbent Joann Boggs  will return to the board with a three-year term, as she was the only one to file a petition for her seat.