New Jansen Village Board of Trustees Elected

By Gordon HopkinsAfter the resignation of four sitting members of the Jansen Village Board of Trustees earlier this year, the Nebraska Secretary of State held a special election on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. Kristina Riggle, Jefferson County Election Commissioner, confirmed the results of the election were official on Wednesday.The four new board members are Vern Niemand, whose term will expire in 2026; and Carol Ellis, Tony Eyer and Jared Russell, whose terms will expire in 2024.They replace Kesha Eldridge, Joyce Ambrose, Matthew Leatherwood and Stoney Brooks, all of whom resigned in May of this year.A total of 47 ballots were cast. The final results are:Jansen Board Member VF1 (Vote for 1):Susan Dickman – 15Vern Niemand – 30Total Votes Cast – 45Jansen Board Member VF3 (Vote for 3):Carol Ellis – 43Jared Russell – 24Chris Ackman – 19Tony Eyer – 43Write-in Votes – 1Total Votes Cast – 128The board consists of five seats. Janene Russell is the sole board member remaining after the recent rash of resignations.With only a single trustee, the village board did not have a quorum and, as such, has been unable to hold board meetings or conduct any village business.A special meeting of the Jansen Village Board of Trustees will be held Monday, July 17, for the purposes of swearing in the new board members and electing a chairperson.FJN recently spoke with one of the newly elected trustees, Carol Ellis, about her plans and hopes for the village going forward, “I think we have a good group of people to move forward with. And, with direction from existing board member Janene Russell, we will get back to business.”Ellis is pleased the special meeting is happening right away, “We will all need to be sworn in so we can move forward. There’s probably a backlog of bills needing to be paid including contractors who did the community grant work.”Included on the upcoming meeting agenda is payment of bills and an update of village affairs by Village Attorney Gregory Kratz.Due to the lack of a quorum, Jansen Fun Days was postponed this year. It is hoped Fun Days may still happen later this year and discussion of that is also on the agenda.Public comment will also be allowed at the meeting.

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