Village board candidate deadlines are July 15, Aug. 1
Former Hamilton County sheriff’s deputy and Aurora police officer, Ray Simmons has announced he is throwing his hat in the ring for the District 3 county commission seat being vacated by John Thomas. Simmons of 1411 N Street in Aurora will run as a write-in candidate facing Jessie Merkel who won the Republican nomination in a three-way race in the May primary.
A native of California, Simmons has lived in Nebraska for 40 years, moving here after having married the former Linda Luthy of Phillips. After graduating from the Nebraska Law Enforcement Training Center in Grand Island in 1984, Simmons served as a deputy sheriff in St. Paul, then transferred to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office and later to the Aurora Police Department. Altogether, he has 15 years of law enforcement experience.
He worked in sales for a number of years and for the past six years he has been a motor grader operator for the Hamilton County Highway Department, working mostly in the Giltner area. He is the father of three grown children and has several grandchildren.
This is not Simmons’s first attempt to enter local politics. Several years ago he ran for Hamilton County Sheriff and then for the Aurora School Board but was defeated both times. He says he considered running for Hamilton County Commission four years ago when there was an open seat, but found out he lived one block outside the right district.
A recent cancer survivor, Simmons said he was busy with cancer treatments and surgery several months ago and missed the filing deadline.
Simmons signed paperwork to become a write-in candidate last month and kicked his campaign off by riding in the A’ROR’N Days parade on Saturday.
Look for profiles of both candidates to appear in an edition of ANR this fall as the Nov. 5 general election nears.
Village board elections
Meanwhile, candidate filing deadlines are approaching for those who want to run for seats on the county’s various village boards of trustees. According to the County Clerk’s Office, the deadline for incumbents to file for reelection to village board is July 15 and the deadline for non-incumbents is Aug. 1. A full listing of all the village board candidates will be published following the final deadline.