Vettel, Gohdes move on in Cass County Commission District 5 race in North Dakota

For the first time in 12 years, a new face will represent District 5 on the Cass County Board of Commissioners after the November election.

Joel Vettel of Fargo and Keith Gohdes of Mapleton will move on to November’s general election after receiving enough votes in the Tuesday, June 11, primary.

In complete but unofficial results, Vettel earned 59 percent of the total 17,432 votes, followed by Gohdes with 23 percent of the vote. Marty Johnson received 18 percent of the vote and will not move on. There were 62 write-in votes.

The three men sought to replace Cass County Commissioner Mary Scherling, who was elected to the Board of Commissioners in 2012 and was not up for re-election.

Vettel was a longtime Fargo Police Officer and served as Executive Director of the Fargo Park District before he resigned.

Gohdes serves on the Cass County Planning and Zoning Commission in addition to several other boards.

Johnson ran against Scherling in 2020 in a two-person race. Johnson had been an outspoken opponent of the Fargo-Moorhead Diversion.

The Cass County Board of Commissioners is made up of five commissioners including the chair that serve five districts encompassing Cass County. Cass County commissioners serve four-year terms and are paid $26,713.76 annually. The chair is paid about $100 more per meeting or $27,999.20 annually.

Cass County District 5 is the largest geographical district in the county as it includes the rural areas of the county from Tower City to Horace, as well as Mapleton and Kindred and parts of West Fargo and Fargo.

This board meets the first and third Mondays of each month at 3:30 p.m. All county meetings are open to the public.

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