There are several contested races in the upcoming general election in Dallas County, though one of them didn’t start that way.

After the June primary election, there was only one name on either side of the ballot for County Treasurer, and that was incumbent Republican Mitch Hambleton of Dallas Center. The Democratic Party then held a special nominating session a few months ago and added their own candidate in Julie Stewart of Waukee. Hambleton is finishing his first four-year term as County Treasurer, and before that he served in the State Auditor’s Office and as a City Council member and Mayor of Dallas Center. He says he’s proud of the last four years as Treasurer, and asks voters to choose him so he can continue that work. “With my previous experience, I brought a lot of process improvement type of items to the office. I went through each of the areas: driver’s license, motor vehicle, and property tax and thought, ‘Okay, how can we better do these things?’ And I’ve implemented changes in each of those areas.”

Stewart is a retired social studies teacher, and has served on the Waukee School Board. She now owns a consignment retail business in Waukee, and decided to run for Treasurer because she felt a call to public service. When asked why people should choose her when filling out their ballots, Stewart says she has a history of good financial experience coupled with an ability to deal with people. “I am very trustworthy. You know, customer service is my number one thing. And I’m just applying for this job, because I feel like I know that I would do a good job both with meeting the public and serving the public.”

To learn more about Hambleton and Stewart, as well as the rest of the candidates in contested races in Dallas County, listen to our Special Edition Meet The Candidates In Depth News Magazine on demand at RaccoonValleyRadio.com.