DULUTH — A third candidate has entered the race for an open St. Louis County Board seat, forcing a primary and bringing a business owner into the contest.

Joe Macor announced his candidacy Tuesday to represent West Duluth on the seven-member board that oversees a $407 million annual budget. The seat is being vacated by Beth Olson, the only woman on the board, who announced she will not run for re-election.

Macor, 37, owns Comfort Living Adult Foster Care in the city's Fond du Lac neighborhood, where he lives with his wife and their three children. He graduated from Denfeld High School and Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College with a law enforcement degree and is a youth sports coach

"It's important that St. Louis County, during these difficult and lean times, focuses its spending on the most critical functions of our county government," Macor said in a statement. "As we've seen during the past few weeks, our lives and needs can change on a moment's notice, and we need our local government to be similarly responsive and cautious."

Macor lines up against former Duluth City Council Member Noah Hobbs and Ashley Grimm, who has Olson's backing. Candidate filing is open until June 2.

The primary to narrow the race to two candidates is Aug. 11. The general election is Nov. 3.

Three other districts will be on the ballot this fall — the eastern edge of Duluth, represented by Patrick Boyle; Hermantown and the ring of rural communities surrounding the city, represented by Keith Musolf; and Hibbing and the southwest corner of the county, currently Mike Jugovich's seat.