By Adam Hammer, staff writer

Candidates for Ward 2 were narrowed from five to Richard Hench and Larry Baker in the primary election Tuesday.

&8220;This tells me some people liked what I said,&8221; Hench said. &8220;I&8217;m going to make it a point to get there and talk to more people. I know Larry&8217;s doing the same thing.&8221;

Baker said he was excited to hear the news that he made it on the November ballot but was not surprised. He said talking to people throughout the ward and seeing numerous signs for himself and for Hench led him to his assertion.

&8220;It&8217;s a matter of doing the legwork,&8221; Baker said. &8220;If you look at a map of Ward 2, it may not look that big, but once you get out there walking, there are a lot of houses.&8221;

Ward 2 in southwest Albert Lea is in the general area north of West Main Street, east of Minnesota Highway 13, west of North Broadway Avenue and south of Fountain Lake.

Even though both candidates know they have secured their positions in the Ward 2 election, neither intends to slow down with their campaigning.

&8220;I hope I can continue with this and get on to the business at hand,&8221; Baker said.

At a City Council meeting in August, a rumor was uttered that Baker may be withdrawing from the Ward 2 race. The rumor was crushed at a later meeting by City Manager Victoria Simonsen.

&8220;That was all a misunderstanding,&8221; Baker said. &8220;This feels good now. I was upset then.&8221;

Hench said he has learned a lot about the people living in his ward and about the many issues that were brought to his attention by them.

&8220;It&8217;s been a real eye-opening experience. Hopefully people will continue to educate me,&8221; Hench said.

Richard Hench received 161 votes, Larry Baker 115. They move on to vie in the Nov. 7 general election.

Paul Carstens, Mike Kelly and Tina Le were on the ballot and finished with 98, 68 and 30 votes respectively. There were a total of 472 votes cast for the ward primary.

Carstens wished Hench and Baker the best of luck in November&8217;s election and was glad to see five members of his ward going after the council seat.

&8220;People care about what&8217;s going on and are getting more involved,&8221; Carstens said.

Le said she hopes to see whoever gets elected work for the people in her ward.

&8220;There were a lot of good candidates running and that&8217;s good to see,&8221; Kelly said. &8220;It&8217;s encouraging that things are happening in Albert Lea and that progressive things are happening.&8221;