NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Cris Corey is a write in candidate for Reno County Commission who came up just short in the Republican primary in August.
"It was just short by two votes," Corey said. "With one vote going the other way, that would have been a tie right there. It was very close. At that point, it's the primary, so it was just the Republican Party that was voting and that could vote for me or my opponent. Really, we split the votes. Now, to give the rest of District One the opportunity to have a choice of who they want, I thought that was crucial."
Corey believes the breadth of his discussions with people as an insurance agent help him know the importance of listening.
"I work with all walks of life," Corey said. "I meet with them. I obviously meet with people daily and I find out what's most important to them and I find ways to protect it. I don't see this much differently with people in the county at the County Commission level. Meeting with people, finding out what's important to them and seeing what we can do about it."
Corey knows that there will be three brand new commissioners on the board in January and there is going to be a learning curve for all of them, no matter who wins Nov. 8.
"Be very curious and get involved," Corey said. "Really talk to all different parts of the county. Public works, the Sheriff's department, any of the departments. Really get in there and get your hands dirty and talk with the people. I think that's the best way to do that. I talked to [current commissioner] Ron Hirst and he said that the learning curve, he's been doing it for years now. He said when he started the learning curve was like this and he made a straight up 12:00 motion, now after doing it for years, it's like this and he made about a 12:15."
County Commission District 1 includes the northwest portion of Hutchinson.
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