Albert Lean Linda K. Tuttle announced Wednesday she will run for the Freeborn County District 5 seat, which is being vacated by Mark Behrends at the end of this year.

“It will be difficult to fill Mark Behrends’ shoes; he has been an outstanding commissioner dedicated to Freeborn County,” Tuttle, 58, said. “I have respected and applauded his decisions throughout his years of service.”

Tuttle now owns Albert Lea Abstract Company on Washington Avenue. From 1974 to 1988, she served as the deputy Freeborn County recorder, and from 1995 to 2000 she served as the recorder, an elected office.

“As a previous Freeborn County recorder and for the last seven-plus years a business owner of Albert Lea Abstract, my 34 years of service and experience with the public would be an asset for the citizens of Freeborn County,” she said. “I have strived to serve the needs of the public and have gained invaluable knowledge through those experiences.”

Tuttle said she has been thinking about running for office now for probably about 1 1/2 to 2 months. She’s always been interested in the board from her days as a county employee.

She said she thinks the county commissioners, along with the Albert Lea City Council, play an important role and can make a lot of decisions that are good for the county and its citizens.

When she was approached by numerous people asking if she would consider running, she felt it was a nice compliment and decided to move forward with the idea.

Though she would be the only woman on the board if she’s elected, she hopes the people of the county don’t get caught up in gender and instead look at the qualifications, experience and overall ability of a person, rather than if they’re a man or a woman in the election process.

Tuttle has lived in Albert Lea for 56 of her 58 years in life.

“I love Freeborn County and I just want to see us be as strong as we can be,” she said. “We need to build this community because it’s a great place to live.”

She said she’s up for the challenge of the campaign and is always willing to face new challenges.

“I look forward to new challenges throughout the campaign process and ultimately the commissioner position,” she said. “Challenge gives us knowledge and knowledge helps us all to create a better community in which to live.”

She said she believes the experience and knowledge she could bring to the table would be a tremendous asset and looks forward to running.

“I have been proud to call Freeborn County my home and its citizens my friends for the last 56 years. I honestly can’t think of anywhere else that I would want to live.”