League of Women Voters - Candidate's Forum

League of Women Voters to host Barton County Commission Candidates' Forum
Barton County Primary Election County Candidates for August 2, 2022

County Commissioner 1st District:

• Jeffery Donecker
• Matthew Gerritzen
• Linda M. Moeder
• Rick Nulton
• Duane Reif
  • Duane A Reif, 68, Hoisington, (R) is a lifetime resident of District 1, Northern Barton County and has worked in Agriculture and Oil until his retirement in 2020. He has always been active in the community serving as president of the Hoisington Chamber of Commerce, 23 years on the Hoisington Fire Dept., Hoisington City Council, Zoning Board, Co-founder of Kans for Kids Fighting Cancer Foundation, and Hoisington Citizen of the Year. He has been married to Deborah Reif for 45 years, has two adult children and 2 grandchildren.
  • ?If elected, I will serve the residents of Northern Barton County with an open mind and always with a listening ear. My priorities are infrastructure, emergency services and small businesses that are the lifeblood of the county. Being centrally located I will be easily accessible not only to Northern Barton County but all of Barton County. I would appreciate your votes on Aug. 2.?

• Jon L. Prescott
  • Currently Serving as County Commissioner District #4
  • Jon Prescott was born and raised in Great Bend living in Barton County his entire life other than the years he attended Fort Hays State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science degrees in Marketing & Finance.  For 40 years, Jon held executive leadership positions in health care, software development, retirement plan services and retail operations.
  • For the last six years he served as City Council Member for Ellinwood Ks which provided him great experience serving Ellinwood residents. He understands budgets, how to increase revenue without increasing taxes and how to cut costs without causing a hardship to his constituents?.
  • Jon?s career included the opportunity to serve as CEO for Sunflower Diversified Services. He learned more in those five years supporting individuals with disabilities then he learned in the previous 35 years working for corporate America.  Serving a humanitarian organization was humbling, sacrificing and yet more rewarding than money could ever provide.  He enhanced Sunflower?s service model for those with Intellectual disabilities which included new jobs and new opportunities. He expanded Community Recycling services so that Barton County could extend the life of its County Landfill.  Last two goals were to grow Public Transportation and create new housing for Sunflower?s clients.  The housing dream became a collaborative opportunity with both Sunflower and Housing Opportunities, Inc.
  • Jon retired March of this year and was blessed to be appointed as the new County Commissioner for District #4. His recent retirement allows him to devote many hours serving District #4 as well as the entire county.
  • Recent Boards:
    • Great Bend Chamber of Commerce
    • Healing Hearts Ranch
    • Star of Hope (International Humanitarian Agency)
    • Interhab (State association advocating for individuals with disabilities)
• Tricia Schlessiger
  • Tricia Schlessiger and her husband Joe live South of Ellinwood and together have raised 6 kids on their family farm. ?With my farm background, my 20 plus years in the banking industry, and the numerous boards on which I volunteer, I provide a different demographic than my competitor.? Her community banking experience taught her the compassion to work with Consumer, Commercial and Agricultural customers in good times and in hard economic times. She knows how to complete cash flows and complex budget projections. She also worked with SBA and FSA for the benefit of her customers for lower interest rate and better loan terms.
  • Schlessiger has experience in many areas, having served as a former township treasurer, Barton County 4-H leader, volleyball coach, member of the St. John?s Lutheran Church, Ellinwood Rotarian, board member of St. John?s Child
    Development Center, member of the Facility Planning Committee for USD #355 and as a volunteer for many Ellinwood events. As a township treasurer she learned the budgeting process, road maintenance and upkeep issues and FEMA Disaster funding.
  • She combines this dedicated volunteerism with a vast education as Schlessiger holds a bachelor?s degree from Kansas State University in accounting and a graduate degree in banking from the University of Wisconsin. ?We need brave new leaders who are willing to think out of the box and find or create opportunities for Barton County to prosper without increasing taxes,? she said. ?It would be my honor to serve District 4.?

• Rick Davis
  • Rick Davis is a proud family man with a loving wife, Stephanie and children – Lauryn and Zachary. Rick oversees the day-to-day operations of MPIRE Companies, including MPIRE Properties and MPIRE Improvements as the Chief Operations Officer. He has started and ran several successful companies throughout the years and taken MPIRE Improvements from its inception to a successful construction company in just a few years. 
  • Rick Davis has been a leading expert in the local housing market for nearly two decades. He’s seen our community grow and shrink with recessions and economic changes. He knows Barton County needs additional, affordable housing to continue to grow, but he also understands there is a limit of growth to be sustainable. Housing is a major issue facing our community.
  • Rick Davis is running for Barton County Commission to help instill these values of business and growth into our community. 
• Donna Zimmerman
  • Donna Zimmerman served as the Barton County clerk/Election Officer since 1995. Zimmerman has been involved annually in the development of the county operational budget and understands the need to monitor spending. As County Clerk, Zimmerman remained consistently under her operating budget maintaining fiscal responsibility. She has worked closely with the Commission and other county departments.
  • Zimmerman attended Wichita State University graduating with the designation of Master Certified County Clerk. Zimmerman has been a member of the following organizations:
    • President of the Kansas County Clerks’ & Election Officials’ Association
    • President of the South-Central Kansas County Clerks’ &; Election Officials Association
    • Executive Board of KAC (Kansas Association of Counties)
    • Executive Board of the KCOA (Kansas County Officials Association)
    • Board of Directors of the Great Bend Chamber of Commerce
    • Board of Directors of the Great Bend Rotary Club
    • Graduate of Leadership Great Bend.
  • Zimmerman is married to her husband, Ray of 41 years. They have two children, a daughter, Sara Winegarner, and husband, Larry and family, and a son, Cory Zimmerman and wife, Katie and family.
  • Zimmerman is proud of her relationships with other municipalities in Barton County and throughout the State of Kansas. Zimmerman said her experience in county government along with her interest in the community through having served on the Chamber and other local organizations position her well to contribute to the continued success of Barton County. Zimmerman said she will call upon the relationships she cultivated with community leaders and governmental agencies to be better informed when looking at issues facing the Commission. Zimmerman said she will have the time to listen and ask the important questions in order to make informed decisions. During these troubling and uncertain times, experienced leadership matters.