Reed, French get through county primary

Dan Reed's pickup truck figures to add a couple thousand more miles now that he's the leading vote-getter following Tuesday's primary election in District 5 in Carlton County. Reed and Alex French advanced to the Nov. 5 general election, receiving 37.6 percent and 25.3 percent of the vote.

"I was very humbled," Reed said about seeing his name atop the ballot totals.

Reed has been knocking on doors across the district, with a goal of reaching every door in every township.

"The response, generally speaking, was very positive," the 75-year-old Reed said. "I get energized by going door to door. You're tired at the end of the day, but I love talking to people, and listening to what they're thinking about."

The primary election Tuesday whittled a six-man race to two for the right to represent the western half of Carlton County, including Cromwell, Wright, Kettle River and Moose Lake.

French, 41, is a Cromwell city council member, and well-known in that part of the county. He and Reed have served together on the board of the Northwest Carlton County Area Ambulance District.

"It was part excitement, part relief," French said of advancing. "I wasn't the most aggressive on the campaign trail. I'm well-known in Cromwell, and that was reflected in the vote total."

All told, 940 voters turned out in District 5. County-wide turnout was 16.09 percent - 3,662 ballots cast among 22,759 registered voters.

Turnout figures to skyrocket in November, when the general election will feature the U.S. presidential race atop the ballot.

The District 5 balloting went as follows:

• Dan Reed 353 votes/37.55 percent.

• Alex French 238/25.32.

• Jason Syrett 94/10.

• Neil Dickenson 91/9.68.

• Chad Walsh 87/9.26.

• John Peura 77/8.19.

Among those that fell short, three were former law enforcement officers - Dickenson, Syrett and Walsh. Only Peura's campaign reached out with a statement following the election.

"I remain committed to serving my community as a public servant," said Peura, who lives in Moose Lake. He thanked supporters and congratulated the other candidates.

"I wish for the other candidates to remain committed to the residents," he said.

Reed said he'd be redoubling his efforts to reach voters by door-knocking.

"I go to every house and I have a lot of houses to go to yet," he said. "I did four townships completely and I ran out of time. I only did part of Moose Lake and I have to finish that up now, and then I start on other townships."

Voters will see Reed, of Automba Township, wearing his Star Club cap, which he sports on the campaign trail because it represents him well, he said, and reflects his family's long history in the area.

"I am a local boy," he said. "The Star Club is the local community club on Highway 27 and it's been around forever. My grandparents courted there, my parents courted there, and I courted there. It's one of our community centers that's very important to us and one of the few we have left."

His focus will remain on replacing lost farming and logging jobs with new economic opportunities and making sure all of rural Carlton County is outfitted with high-speed internet.

"Without good internet, people aren't going to want to live here," he said.

Reed and French are vying to replace outgoing commissioner Gary Peterson. Peterson was a three-time incumbent, who announced he was stepping down earlier this year. He was eager to get new voices onto the board, and later endorsed Reed.

French said he's juggling a lot, including the start of junior high football next week. He's a coach in addition to being a full-time accountant in Cloquet.

"I need to get to work on getting my name around in the southern part of the district," French said. "I need to get my name out in the Moose Lake area and those townships down there. Dan's been working hard at the campaigning and is known down there."

French owns one of the campaign's best lines to date. When he talked earlier this month about county spending, he said, "People just want an advocate for them who is making sure that it's not just Santa's wish list being approved."

He said whether it's himself or Reed, voters will be getting a good perspective on the board.

"We both have the county's and district's best interests in mind," he said. "No one sees the world the same as somebody else, but if it's me or if it's not, the county's not going to go backwards."

In other county board races set for Nov. 5, incumbant Tom Proulx is running unopposed in District 3, representing a large part of Cloquet, while Sarah Plante Buhs and Caleb Dunlap are vying to replace Dick Brenner in District 1. Brenner announced in May he would be leaving office after 32 years on the board, representing west Cloquet, Scanlon and Sawyer.

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How Carlton County voted

Top two advance to general election in November.

District 5 commissioner

Dan Reed 353

Alex French 238

Jason Syrett 94

Neil Dickenson 91

Chad Walsh 87

John Peura 77

Sixth District judge

Shawn Reed 997

John Schulte 691

Gunnar Johnson 613

Peter Rauker 405

Gerald Wallace 346

Johnson and Reed advanced to the general election with votes counted across the district in other counties. Johnson had 23.85 percent of the vote (6,548) and Reed had 22.57 percent (6,196).

Other races

How Carlton County voted in state races.

Republican U.S. Senator

Royce White 451

Joe Fraser 362

Ray Petersen 155

Alycia Gruenhagen 128

Patrick D. Munro 107

John Berman 104

Loner Blue 73

Chris Seymore Sr. 59

Total votes cast 1,439

Republican U.S. Representative

District 8

Pete Stauber 1,381

Harry Welty 152

Total votes 1,533

DFL U.S. Senator

Amy Klobuchar 1,932

Steve Carlson 39

Ahmad R. Hassan 22

George Kalberer 13

Ole Savior 9

Total votes 2,015

DFL U.S. Representative

District 8

Jen Schultz 1,742

John Munter 198

Total votes 1,940

Election results

Look for full county election vote totals and a preview of what you'll see on ballots in November on Page 19-20.