There are two Republican candidates who will face off for the District 5 Carroll County Supervisor’s seat in the Primary on Tuesday June 7. Current Supervisor, Mark Beardmore announced earlier this year that he will not be seeking another term, but Tony Konkler and Rich Ruggles have both filed the necessary paperwork to campaign for the open spot. Ruggles says he has no axe to grind on anything that has been done to this point and jokes that since his golf game isn’t really that good, he thought he would put his time to good use for the people of the county.
Having served on the city council, fire department and the waste agency board for the county, Ruggles says he has a good grasp of budgets, although on a bit smaller scale than that of the county. He said one of the biggest challenges he sees for the new role will be with the complicated mental health system and the possibility of regionalization in the future. Regionalization, Ruggles predicts, will draw a lot of the board’s attention.
With his previous experience, Ruggles knows there will be a lot of hard work and long hours involved with the position, but he is ready to devote whatever is needed. Though not born and raised in Carroll County, he has called it home for over 30 years when he moved back to the area in 1977 to take a position with a telephone company in Coon Rapids. He worked there until 1999, when he accepted a position with a municipality, where he worked until 2007. He currently lives in Carroll, and says his combined experiences with living and working here have made him very familiar with the lay of the land. He would like everyone to know that he has a knack for being able to compromise for the greater good and that he will work with the exceptional county staff to ensure they are operating in the best interests of the people of Carroll County.
Ruggles urges everyone to get out and vote in the Primary on June 7, and says he will be heading out to meet more constituents with some door-to-door campaigning.
