Ellsworth resident Greg Bender has filed for the county commission seat filled for many years by Kermit Rush, who has announced he will not seek re-election.

Bender, a Republican, is unopposed; however, Ellsworth attorney Patrick Hoffman, a Democrat, has expressed interest in the job.

Candidates have until noon June 1 to file.

In addition to Rush, another long-time county officer also will be missing from the 2020 ballot.

Register of deeds Janice Sneath has not filed; however, her deputy, Sue Arensman, is seeking the job. Arensman, a Republican, has worked at the register of deeds office since October 1983.

She started working in the courthouse about a year after Sneath became register of deeds in September 1982.

Sneath said she will celebrate her 80th birthday in January and it is time to retire.

Given Arensman’s experience, the transition should be a smooth one.

“It has been a lot of fun,” Sneath said of her 38 years in the Ellsworth County Courthouse.

The only other courthouse filing as of Monday morning was Rita Suderland, a Republican, for District Magistrate Judge, 20th Judicial, Position 1. Verle Willey is the current magistrate.

On the municipal side, Wilson City Council president Cindy Heinze has filed for re-election. Two other seats also are open at Wilson, but no one had filed as of early this week.

So far, not enough candidates have filed for city or county posts to trigger a runoff at the Aug. 4 primary. The general election is Nov. 3.

Voter registration deadline for the general election is Tuesday, Oct. 13. Deadline to request an absentee ballot is Friday, Oct. 30.

Several residents have filed for township offices.