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Lincoln County board fills District 2 vacancy, appoints Herman Otten after 3–2 ballot
Summary
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners used a public ballot procedure to pick a successor for the District 2 vacancy; Herman Otten won 3–2 after ballots were read aloud and the auditor’s ballot gave Otten the deciding vote.
The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners appointed Herman Otten to fill the District 2 vacancy on July 7, 2026, following a public, ballot-style vote. Ballots were collected and read in public; the board announced a 3–2 result in favor of Otten.
County legal counsel Drew DeGruv explained the two methods available to the board for filling the vacancy and recommended a ballot-style selection to allow commissioners to express ranked preferences. The board agreed to use the ballot process and allowed the auditor to participate consistent with statute, with ballots placed into the public record.
Staff read the ballots aloud in public order. The reading showed two votes for Dwayne Carlson and three votes for Herman Otten; the tally as read was: Joel Aarons (voted for Dwayne Carlson), Tiffany Landin (voted for Herman Otten), Doug Putnam (voted for Dwayne Carlson), Jim Schmidt (voted for Herman Otten) and Auditor Sherry Lund (voted for Herman Otten). That produced a 3–2 majority for Otten.
Drew DeGruv advised the board that no additional motion was required after the ballot tally; the result stood as the official selection. Commissioners briefly offered remarks after the result: one commissioner described the choice as “probably the toughest vote I’ve ever had to make,” and another urged unity going forward.
The board paused to swear in the appointee and to complete administrative steps for him to assume duties. Commissioners said they would work with the appointee on orientation, departmental introductions and outstanding county business in the weeks ahead.
What’s next: the appointee will serve the remainder of the term as set by county rules; the board did not take further formal action on the appointment at the meeting.
