County Commissioner At Large
What does this office do?
- Setting your property tax rate
- Funding county roads, parks, and public health services
- Setting land use and building rules outside city limits
Affects: Healthcare Affordability, Environment and Public Health, Government Efficiency,
Candidates:
Republican
Alan Brutty is a lifelong Brookings resident and local business owner who has worked with families, farmers and businesses across the county. Supporters describe Brutty as focused on county growth and on listening to residents.
Republican · Incumbent
Kelly VanderWal is a Brookings County commissioner and the commission's 2026 vice chair. VanderWal has served on the Volga City Council, managed Volga Ag Center Inc., and studied agricultural production at Lake Area Technical Institute.
Independent · Incumbent
Larry Jensen is a Brookings County commissioner and the commission's 2026 chair. Jensen has been county highway superintendent, a White City Council member and a volunteer firefighter, manages a family farm, and stresses fiscal responsibility and common sense.
Independent
Marty Stanwick has been Brookings County Sheriff since first taking office in 1999, after earlier work as an SDSU patrol officer and a Brookings police officer. As sheriff, Stanwick has backed mental health training for deputies and a re-entry program for jail inmates.
Republican
Michael Lambertus is a manager with Avera and a retired Brookings firefighter who served from 2006 to 2022, rising to officer, state instructor and president of the volunteer association. Lambertus has lived in Brookings since 2004 and says he wants to return to public service.
Sources: vip.sdsos.gov · sdlegislature.gov