Wright says he has strong character

Paul Wright is a District 3 McLeod County Board candidate with considerable name recognition, but he hopes voters in September’s primary know which Paul Wright he is.

He’s not the Paul Wright who lives in Hutchinson and is a former DFL candidate. This Paul Wright lives on a 550-acre farm in Lynn Township, where he and his family grow crops including corn, soybeans, rye, flax, sweet corn and peas.

Past experience
“Several years ago, McLeod County wanted to develop a feedlot ordinance,” Wright recalled. “The first version seemed irrational. It was just a little too much.”

He believed the draft ordinance placed unreasonable limits on growth, so he took a stand and encouraged other farmers to speak up. Wright said the farmers and the county were able to work out a happy medium. After the ordinance was passed, he was asked to serve on a newly formed feedlot subcommittee of the county’s water planning task force. Wright has served on that the feedlot subcommittee for 7 1/2 years.

Wright thinks a good county commissioner should be strong of character, able to work with others, have an open mind, be a good listener, and have solid business sense. Not coincidentally, Wright believes that’s an accurate description of himself.

For more on this story, which is part of a series of profiles on this year’s County Board candidates, see the Leader’s Aug. 7 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)