Craig Dodd, owner of Chisholm Trail Outfitters, Hillsboro, has been certified to appear on the Nov. 4 ballot as an independent for county commission.

Clerk Tina Spencer told commissioners Monday that Dodd’s nominating petitions had been accepted and ruled sufficient.

When commissioners joked about why Dodd, a gun-shop owner who attended much of their meeting Monday, was running as an independent instead of as a Republican or a Democrat, he replied: “I didn’t want to get shot.”

Dodd originally considered running as a write-in in the Republican primary after Commissioner Roger Fleming decided not to seek re-election and a deadline to file passed.

Dodd would have needed 156 votes in the Aug. 5 primary to be listed on the Nov. 4 ballot but learned that it was too late to change his registration from independent to Republican.

Instead, he opted to pay a $35 filing fee and submit a petition with at least 107 signatures to be listed on the Nov. 4 ballot as an independent.

Two other candidates have announced that they will seek the Republican nomination as write-ins: Donald Ewert of Durham Park Township and Lori Lalouette-Crawford of Hillsboro.

The district includes Hillsboro and northwest Marion County.