By Shannon Fiecke, Correspondent

Politicians are often accused of not living up to their campaign promises, but Scott County Commissioner Bob Vogel was determined not to break his pledge, even though the public would never have known.

Vogel, an Elko New Market bank president who represents southeastern Scott County, told himself when he ran for office he would serve no more than two terms.

The County Board chair made good on that pledge last week in announcing he would not seek a third term, leaving the field wide open for this fall’s election.

Already two have filed for his seat. Filing for county offices, state representative and Congress opened Tuesday last week.

Vogel represents District 2, which includes Elko New Market, Savage precincts 6 and 8, as well as the townships of Cedar Lake, Credit River, New Market and Spring Lake.

Vogel said he didn’t want to make a career out of public service, and he wanted to be able to make decisions based on the long-term interest of the county, without being swayed by short-term political repercussions. He’s happy to report he can’t recall a single vote he took where he was bothered by the thought of re-election.

Still, he admits that he toyed with semantics in making a final determination not to file again, debating with himself whether he had really served “two terms,” since he hadn’t been on the board eight years. He took office in January 2003, but his first term was half a normal one due to redistricting.

Vogel said he’s enjoyed his time on the board, but is looking forward to more personal time.

“I read comp plans and financial statements and stuff,” he said. “I don’t do a lot of pleasure reading.”

Vogel is one of three commissioners who have been taking turns serving as board chairman and vice chairman. Most commissioners also divvy up committee assignments, developing their expertise in different areas.

A lot of what Vogel has been involved with are the not-so-glamorous behind-the-scenes issues. Like, for instance, involvement on the Vermillion River Watershed District Joint Powers Board. Or the Metropolitan Emergency Radio Board, which prompted Vogel to get discussions rolling in Scott County about transitioning to digital radio to improve communication for emergency responders.

More recently, Vogel encouraged the county to establish a vision for its future growth when it updated the comprehensive land-use plan. He believes the visioning process has resulted in a ground-breaking proposal that will drive land-use decisions on more than just road and sewage infrastructure reasons.

Vogel said he’s taken a particular interest in county budgeting and “nuts and bolts” projects which improve efficiency in the long-term, such as the recent approval of a half-million-dollar technology project to improve workflow in the social services division.

Although he’s supported building up the county’s park reserves, Vogel was the sole commissioner last year to oppose buying the Cedar Lake Farm resort, largely because of financial constraints and also due to the lack of a long-term financing plan for county park development.

The other County Board member whose term expires this year is Barbara Marschall, who represents District 4, which includes Prior Lake and four Shakopee precincts. She is the only candidate to file so far for her district. 

Two candidates

So far, two people are running to fill Vogel’s spot on the County Board.

Tom Wolf, of Savage, who ran a close race with Vogel four years ago and also ran for the board in 2002 and 2000 before redistricting and when all of Savage was in one commissioner district, entered his candidacy on July 1, the first day of the filing period.

Wolf — who campaigned last time as a fiscal conservative, proposing that the tax levy shouldn’t rise faster than the rate of inflation and that the county’s work should be outsourced where possible —couldn’t be reached for comment.

Prior Lake Police Detective Chris Olson, who lives in Spring Lake Township, filed a week later.

Olson said he is interested in public service and has been a fan of Bob Vogel.

“I thought he was very fiscally responsible,” he said. “I want to make sure that trend continues. If we’re going to spend people’s dollars, I’d like it done responsibly.”

In other races

U.S. Rep. John Kline has filed for re-election. He is a Republican in the Minnesota's Second Congressional District. He does not yet have a challenger, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's Web site, although Steve Sarvi of Victoria has been endorsed by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party.

As expected in the race for state House seat 35A, incumbent Michael Beard, R-Shakopee, and his DFL-endorsed opponent Sue Bruns of Prior Lake, have both filed.

In sister House seat 35B, Taylor Kristoffe-Jones, DFL-Savage, will run again for the Minnesota House of Representatives seat held by state Rep. Mark Buesgens, R-Jordan. Kristoffe-Jones, who filed for the election on July 1, lost to Buesgens in the election two years ago. Buesgens has not yet filed for re-election, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's Web site.

No candidates have filed yet for three local Scott Soil and Water Conservation District seats, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State's Web site.

The filing period runs through July 15 for candidates to file for upcoming state and county elections.

Shannon Fiecke can be reached at sfiecke@swpub.com.

Correspondent Mathias Baden also contributed to this article.