Baltich wins Lake County commissioner election

There will be a Fall Lake resident on the Lake County Board of Commissioners.

Joe Baltich pulled out a 251-223 victory over Jack Nelson in the special election for Lake County commissioner. There were 79 write-ins.

Baltich won Fall Lake 161-36 but lost in the other four precincts to Nelson. Baltich did, however, pick up enough votes in each precinct to put him over the top.

Nelson won Beaver Bay 37-9, Crystal Bay 99-46, Silver Bay 32-24 and Unorganized 19-11. The wild card may have been write in voters who totaled 79 votes, with five in Beaver Bay, 37 in Crystal Bay, 25 in Fall Lake, nine in Silver Bay and three in the Unorganized territory. 

Baltich will fill the seat vacated when Pete Walsh passed away. Baltich had run against Walsh in 2018. 

In the primary, Baltich squeaked by with a 100-99 second-place finish over Colby Abazs. Nelson won the primary with 124 votes.