MORROW COUNTY — Gus Peterson will be the new face on the Morrow County Board of Commissioners come January, according to unofficial results from the Nov. 5 election.

Peterson beat incumbent Roy Drago Jr. 2,474 votes to 1,417, according to the Oregon Secretary of State’s unofficial results. Peterson will serve a four-year term as commissioner. The Nov. 5 results are more decisive, but Peterson also beat Drago in May’s primary election by 0.5%, when the two were in a four-person primary.

“I’m happy with the results,” Peterson said. “I want to do my best to make people feel like what they’ve got to say really does matter, and I will take what they’ve got to say and will turn it into action.”

A lifelong Ione resident and farmer, Peterson attended Oregon State University, where he earned bachelor’s degrees in agricultural science and political science. This will be his first elected position.

He said he was “pretty shocked” by how low turnout in the county was. Of 7,293 registered voters in the county, only 3,929, or 54%, voted in the county commissioner race.

“It looks like we’ve got work to do on convincing people that their vote matters and that being engaged matters,” he said, “and I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

Peterson said he was thankful Drago was someone who “ran very clean” in the election.

“I did appreciate him even if I did want to win,” he said.

Drago was appointed to his position in February 2023 after serving as a Boardman city councilor. During the summer, Drago and Commissioners David Sykes and Jeff Wenholz weathered a recall vote over the county’s handling of its Ambulance Service Area plans, among other grievances.

Despite making it through the recall, Drago was unable to retain his seat, and his term expires Jan. 6, 2025, which is when Peterson will step into his new role. Terms for Sykes and Wenholz continue until January 2027.