County reaches settlement with fired candidate

LINCOLN, Nebraska (AP) -- Hitchcock County has reached a settlement with a former employee who says he was fired for running for office, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

Roy Edmondson, of Culbertson, filed a federal lawsuit against the county in May, saying County Commissioner Bradford Hock asked him to withdraw from the race for Hock's seat or resign. Edmondson said that when he refused, he was fired from his job with the roads department.

Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Omaha show a settlement has been reached, and the parties have until Nov. 19 to present a copy to the court for approval.

Details of the agreement weren't immediately available Wednesday.

The county's attorney, Vincent Valentino, declined to provide details, saying the settlement hadn't yet been approved by the court.

A message left for Edmondson's attorney wasn't immediately returned.

Edmondson's lawsuit had sought reinstatement to his job, lost wages and other compensation.

Edmondson, who started in the roads department in 2007, filed to run for commissioner on Feb. 16. A few weeks later, his lawsuit says, Hock confronted Edmondson at work about his election challenge and told him to choose between the race and his job. When Edmondson refused, Hock fired him without conferring with the other two commissioners and without a vote by the commission, the lawsuit says.

Edmondson went on to beat Hock in the Republican primary, 103-101. There are no Democrats on the Nov.2. ballot, so he'll likely become commissioner.