Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

  • Learn where candidates running for office in your community stand on the issues.
  • Build your ballot before voting. Print or email the information to use as a reference when you actually vote.

We do not save your information; it will be lost when you leave this page. Only candidates that appear on your ballot will be listed. Additional information may be available for your area so be sure to scroll to the bottom of the page for other voters’ guides.

Start Over

Voter Guide

Rice County Commissioner District 1

County commissioners are the county s key policymakers. They oversee the administration of the county, set county budget, and participate in county long-range planning. County services that they oversee include a wide variety of social service and welfare programs, as well as certain public health programs. Learn more about the day in the life of a county commissioner in this video from the Association of Minnesota Counties.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.

  • Candidate picture

    Jim Purfeerst
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Erik Sahlin
    (NP)

Biographical Information

How will you ensure that voices from all constituents will be heard/accessible?

As a County Commissioner, what measures, if any, would you support to reinforce or ensure voter confidence in our elections?

{_btnLabelFor(compare1, _isInSelection(compare1))}
{_btnLabelFor(compare2, _isInSelection(compare2))}
Contact Phone 5073235091
Facebook (Full URL) http://www.facebook.com/jimpurfeerstforcommissioner/
Campaign Email jimpurfeerst@gmail.com
I am committed to listening and being available to constituents. I encourage calls, texts, emails or face to face meetings with myself or county staff. Public input and opinion is critical to enhance outcomes and improve opportunities for all. Over the last two years, the Board has expanded county communications, including the addition of a communications specialist, posting recorded sessions of board meetings on the county website,communicating via Facebook, holding more public forums, adding a monthly Board meeting for general public comment, and changing policy to allow public comment after each agenda item at Committee of the Whole meetings. Discussions have also begun to add evening public commentary opportunites in the future.
Voting integrity is important as well as voter confidence. Rice County has numerous procedures in place which follow all state standards and guidelines. Public sessions have been hosted to be transparent about voting processes. I would encourage voters to become involved and more informed about elections -- attend trainings and become an election judge or poll worker. I have complete confidence in our Property Tax and Elections staff and voting processes in RIce County.
Campaign Website http://sahlinfordistrictone.com
Contact Phone 5103338282
Facebook (Full URL) http://www.facebook.com/sahlinfordistrictone/
Campaign Email sahlin@icloud.com
As your Commissioner, I’ll welcome more members of our community into county government by serving the way I’m campaigning—by visiting regularly with people of all backgrounds across District One. I’ll focus on helping to develop the next generation of leadership, to help make sure Commissioners always have healthy competition and need to work to earn our votes. I’ll keep the website BetterRiceCounty.com going as a gateway, to bring in new people and ideas. And I’ll work to create better tools for public involvement: meetings when working families can attend; better public hearings—not just a little last-minute listening; better communication with the public on big decisions—not just fine-print legal language in the back of the newspaper.
I’ll start by using the role of Commissioner well: have the backs of Rice County election staff; ask the Property Tax & Elections Department what specific support they need. I will speak up to support confidence in the election process, so distrust and suspicion can’t grow in silence. And I will express pride in our Minnesota voting culture. We don’t mess around with elections in Minnesota: we make voting straightforward, we show up to vote, we count ballots efficiently, and we are transparent.
Powered by League of Women Voters Education Fund

The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

VOTE411 is brought to you by the League of Women Voters Education Fund and League of Women Voters of Minnesota Education Fund. The League of Women Voters does not support or oppose any political party or candidate for office.