The Convention to replace and appoint the District 3 County Commissioner for Bourbon County will be April 5th at 9am in the Ellis Fine Arts building meeting rooms. The precinct men and women from the old District 3 will be the voting delegates.

A letter of resignation was submitted to Bourbon County by Leroy Kruger on Tuesday, March 18,  and forwarded to the Kansas Governor’s Office.

According to Jennifer Hawkins, Bourbon County Deputy Clerk, the Bourbon County Republican Party has 21 days from the day they receive the notice of vacancy from the Governor’s Office to appoint someone to the seat.

The Bourbon County District 3 Appointment Area is defined as the area designated as District 3 (prior to the geographical redistricting done to increase the Bourbon County commissioner total from three to five). District three is the pink district on the map.

Interested Republican residents of Bourbon County District 3 seeking to fill the county commission seat should send a letter of interest with qualifications, rationale, and reasons why they should be selected to: Kaety Bowers, Chairwoman, email bourbon.county.republicans@gmail.com. The deadline is Thursday, April 3, 2025 by 5pm.

Any questions regarding your address and its location within the district should be directed to Susan Walker, Bourbon County Clerk; phone 620-223-3800 ext. 191.

The Republican Party will certify the appointment with the Governor’s Office who will then approve the appointment and issue a certificate of office to the new appointee.

The individual appointed will not be able to conduct business as a County Commissioner until they receive their certificate from the Governor’s Office.

Hawkins has been keeping a file of resignations for the past two years, and remembers other resignations of commissioners during her 11 years of working for the county. Most recently, Nelson Blythe, 1^st District Commissioner, resigned 4-1-2024 and Brandon Whisenhunt was appointed to fill the vacant seat.

Lynne Oharah, 1^st District Commissioner, resigned 7-13-2022 and Nelson Blythe was appointed to fill the vacant seat. Nick Ruhl, 3^rd District Commissioner, resigned 8-26-2020 and Clifton Beth was appointed to fill his vacant seat.