Mt. Pleasant Chamber Alliance to host county candidate debate

County elective-office candidates will be featured at the second and final Mt. Pleasant Area Chamber Alliance debate Friday, Oct. 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Mt. Pleasant Library and Civic Center.

Incumbent Republican Gary See, Republican Greg Moeller and Democrat Kurt Garretson are vying for two seats on the three-member Henry County Board of Supervisors. All three candidates will be at the debate.

Also scheduled to appear is Rich McNamee, non-party candidate for Henry County Sheriff. Incumbent Sheriff Allen Wittmer will not participate. Although Wittmer is on the ballot, he announced at a Mt. Pleasant News/Iowa Wesleyan College-sponsored debate Oct. 17 that he will be resigning his office effective Nov. 10, 2012, to accept a position with the U.S. Marshal?s Office in San Antonio, Texas.

If Wittmer is elected to office Nov. 6, the Henry County supervisors would have to appoint a replacement ? both for the duration of his current term (ending Dec. 31, 2012) and for his new term. That means the supervisors could appoint a different person to begin serving on Jan. 1, 2013, than the person appointed to finish out the current term. The person appointed in January 2013 would serve until the next county general election, which is November of 2014.

Citizens, however, could petition for a special election to fill the sheriff?s seat.