By JONATHAN ZWEYGARDT
Hays Post

Jan. 12 will be a historic day for the Ellis County Commission – marking just the second time a woman will be sworn in as Ellis County Commissioner.

Commissioner-elect Martha “Marcy” McClelland defeated Ellis Mayor Lyle Johnson in the Republican primary in August and ran unopposed in the November general election. She will be sworn in as District 1 commissioner next month.

McClelland will join current Commission Chairwoman Barb Wasinger on the commission, marking the first time two women will have served at the same time.

McClelland said she was a little bit shocked when Wasinger was elected, but it gave her the confidence when she decided to run that she would be a welcome candidate.

“It gave me the confidence that I had something to give,” McClelland said.

She said she does not have an agenda going into her time as commissioner but said the county really needs to look at its needs and wants — and maybe not “want so much.”

State funding changes are putting more pressure on the county, and McClelland said “(in) some cases, the county should take intuitive.”

“I think out county is probably in pretty good shape, but we have a pretty broad tax base with oil and agriculture,” she said.

McClelland has served on the Ellis County Farm Bureau Board for the last nine years and said she is very much an agriculture advocate.

She will step down from that board in January after her swearing-in as a county commissioner.

Coming from a farm family and owning farm ground, McClelland added water is one of the biggest issues facing the county and that the city of Hays has set a good example.

“We need to realize what’s important and we also need to leave something for future generations.”

McCLelland also called for the county to use the resources already within the county.

“That’s the way the county will grow,” she said. “We are the northwest Kansas hub. We’ve got to make it grow.”