The winner of Tuesday's primary election will claim the Washington County Commission A four-year seat, because no Democratic challenger will face the winner in November.
Officials are concerned that voters will be caught by surprise because of the early date of the primary election.The two Republicans seeking the County Commission seat are Jerry Lewis, the incumbent, who has served on the commission for 17 years, and Elmer Pickett, a newcomer to the political arena. Both men are longtime St. George businessmen.
The sheriff's race, where Glenwood Humphries, the incumbent, is challenged by Kirk Smith, and the county recorder's race are also on the primary ballot. The incumbent county recorder, Russell Shirts, is challenged by Doug B. Wilson.
Jerry Lewis said his time served in office is an asset to the county and his chairmanship on two state committees, including the Joint Highway Commission, is very valuable to the area.
Lewis has served since 1977 and has been lived in St. George for 24 years. He was raised in Kanab and has operated a heavy-duty construction business in St. George.
He sees water and the threatened and endangered species situation as the most challenging problem at this time.
"We spend a lot of time trying to resolve some of these problems to try to make things feasible and reasonable for the people and the animal or plant involved. We need to continue working on the Habitat Conservation Plan to take care of these problems.
"Water is the key to the future," said Lewis. "Water is the No. 1 issue. If you're a farmer or if you're a rancher it's No. 1; if you're thirsty it's No. 1.
"We want to do whatever we can do to preserve the water that we have and plan new ways to develop water," he said.
The county will continue to deal with growth and how to handle it, he said. He said law enforcement must be upgraded constantly to keep pace with growth in Washington County. Lewis says growth will continue but that some of the fees the cities have added might slow it just a little.
Regarding transportation, Lewis said the commission has been working with the cities to identify future routes and acquire rights of way. "It's easy to talk about planning routes, but a difficult thing to achieve."
He says working with the people of the county has been a real plus for him. "When the people complain, you better listen because there is something that needs to be taken care of and we have tried to address those issues. I hope I can continue to be effective in solving some of the problems of the county," said Lewis.
Elmer Pickett is a lifelong resident of St. George and has been involved in managing retail operations throughout his life. This is his first attempt at politics.
He believes the County Commission needs new thinking and new ideas. "The incumbent has been in there for 18 years and I just feel that's too long."
Pickett graduated from Dixie College, but his education at the University of Utah was interrupted by World War II. He's been involved in civic activities and has held various appointed jobs with the city and the state and feels he has a broad range of experience in confronting issues that face the county. He has been actively involved with the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club and the American Legion.
Pickett was district commissioner of Scouting and helped to found the Little League program in St. George. He has been president of a three-state lumber and hardware association and has been state commander of the American Legion and has been involved in electrical associations.
Pickett said that through his experience and familiarity with the county he is "well-qualified to make decisions that will be in the best interest of the county."
Pickett sees developing water and dealing with endangered species laws as serious problems. He worries about the encroachment of the federal government through its connected agencies that seem to stop all progress and activity. "I feel we need to fight more vigorously to regain our rights to run our county.
"We've got to have growth, but it needs to be a little better managed, I think, a little more tightly managed and it can be without really stopping everything." He says trying to stop growth would be just as bad as letting growth go and take its own course. "There's an opportunity there for a lot of good thinking to go into the programs to manage our growth."