Commissioner Lehrke could be spared 2012 election, pick up Afton constituents

Washington County Commissioner Autumn Lehrke, of Cottage Grove, won't face a re-election battle in 2012 under a county redistricting plan that has emerged as the favored option of County Board members.

Commissioners will vote next week on a redrawn district map required every decade to account for population shifts in the county.

Elected to her seat in 2010, Lehrke -- who represents Cottage Grove, Newport, St. Paul Park, Grey Cloud Island, Denmark Township and a sliver of rural Hastings in District 4 -- would pick up two of the city of Afton's four election precincts under the plan that the five board members backed during a workshop Tuesday in Stillwater.

The small change in District 4's population that would result from the change, however, wouldn't be enough to trigger a new election for the seat under state statute, said Kevin Corbid, the county's top elections official.

The county's four remaining commissioners would all face re-election contests this fall if the plan is ratified next week.

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