On our podcast earlier this week, we began spreading rumors about candidates for Northfield City Council this fall… people who either might be considering filing or who are being lobbied to run for council or mayor by others. Since then, I’ve heard a few more names.
- Betsey Buckheit
- Dana Graham
- Dave Hvistendahl
- Dave Maroney
- Dixon Bond
- Jane McWilliams
- Jessica Peterson
- Jim Pokorney
- Ken Malecha
- Kris Vohs
- Lee Lansing
- Noah Cashman
- Ray Cox
- Scott Davis
Expiring terms:
- Lee Lansing — Mayor
- Kris Vohs — At-Large
- Scott Davis — Second Ward
- Arnie Nelson — Third Ward
Who else would you like to see run for council/mayor? Attach a comment. In a week or so, I’ll create a straw poll.
According to this positions open/candidates needed page on the LWV site:
NORTHFIELD CITY COUNCIL
OPEN SEATS: 2nd Ward, 3rd Ward, one At Large
FILING PERIOD: July 1-15, 2008
(last date to withdraw, July 17)
FILING FEE: $5.00
WHERE TO FILE: Northfield City Hall
801 Washington Street
PRIMARY ELECTION: September 9
(If more than 2 file for one seat)
GENERAL ELECTION: November 4
LENGTH OF TERM: 4 YearsNORTHFIELD MAYOR
OPEN SEAT: Mayor
FILING PERIOD: July 1-15, 2008
(last date to withdraw, July 17)
FILING FEE: $5.00
WHERE TO FILE: Northfield City Hall
801 Washington Street
PRIMARY ELECTION: September 9
(If more than 2 file)
GENERAL ELECTION: November 4
LENGTH OF TERM: 4 Years
Patrick, you’re doing it again and y’er following the lead of Rudolph the Red’s groupies..the enemy of my enemy is my friend.
No-one has said throw the bums out. I, and others have said that it would be good for the community and the group of three if all seven were to throw their hats in the ring. Civilized, critical, constructive, debatable. And raised as a point for discussion which can be addressed in interesting and unique ways…and eventually let go of -- or not.
You characterize it, as others have done on so many issues, as a witch-hunt and as such send us all to our corners to either come out fighting, or fire a broadside and disappear into the crowd, or just plain sulk. It bothers me immensely that this particular tactic is oft deployed as a stopping tactic to prevent further important and relevant and articulate discussion on issues that some of us will not simply allow to disappear or be swept under the carpet for the sake of avoiding further unpleasantness or embarrassing some erstwhile pillar of the establishment.
You imply that the 6 or 7 speak only for themselves and that the vast unspeaking and unheard majority are somehow or other in a different camp entirely and in fact are with you, or him, or her, or Rudolph, or the NNews, or the attorney, or the the government employee who has no axe to grind, or the expert who receives a bag of money for his unbiased, non-partisan pronouncements or some other ‘not-the six-or seven’ who see things clearly, rationally and dispassionately.
Who the are these ‘not 6 or 7′ and what the hell do they actually think on the issues. The issues, Patrick, not the U or not-U, the trouble-seekers and -makers…. the issues!.
Sorry Norman, you’re on your own for a few days. I’m heading out of town.
C’mon, Norm. Play by your own rules. If you want the councilors to stand for a vote before their terms are up and you have the numbers behind you, organize recall elections for all of them. That’s what the mayor’s supporters told the many, many people outraged by his behavior over the last year. If you can’t prove you have the numbers, you speak for yourself — and the councilors answer to the very real people who actually elected them, not an uncounted, anonymous, amorphous group of critics who may or may not exist.
Happily, the charter gives you the perfect way to bring the hordes of critics to the ballot box — and you’ll have such wonderful weather on your side as you circulate the petitions.
Patrick: You mistake my motives: I do not want anyone to resign their office.
I do want the power block voting , which does not well serve the citizenry of this community , to cease. I want to hear councilors express what they think is best for the community, and I hear far too much punitiveness, openly expressed and acted upon. I see disrespect for the citizen Boards and Commissions, which often more honestly express the will of the community, and that is a shame.
But you’re right in making me remember I said, “I don’t see anything that dramatic happening’ …
So if the councilors split there’s unhealthy contention and conflict and if they agree there’s unhealthy bloc voting? Hmmmm…
[...] Who should run for mayor and city council? [...]
After watching the first half of the city council work session last night, the hastily and “imperiously ” called meeting with the Charter Commission, I am more than ever convinced that Norm’s idea of needing a “clean slate” is a valid one.
What I call the “dynamics” are just not good. There’s no clearer way to say it.
Two lawyers were brought down from St. Paul to discuss the “roles and responsibilities” (ubiquitous term) of the Council and the Charter Commission. Well, I don’t believe for a moment that each of these groups doesn’t know, as well as any ever do, what their “roles and responsibilities” are. This terminology has become a euphemism for someone thinking someone is out of line.
After 45 minutes or so of beating around the bush, the real situation was brought to the table by Ms. Buckheit, newly appointed to the Chart/comm.
I can’t quote her exactly, but the essence of what she asked was: why are we having this quasi-educational meeting when the real questions/struggles/ conflicts(?) that brought us together tonight are not being addressed?
Well, it was theatre, in the true sense of the word. The two attorneys sat back, and watched , barely containing wry smiles, as the conversation began to take on a more realistic direction. And a lot of barely concealed animosity came out, and not just on the specific subject at hand.
At one point, C. Vohs, turned to the NFNews reporter and said that people should not believe everything they read in the paper, or should recognize that it might not be the whole story, and that the newspaper had been a negative influence in the town’s process. Harsh words; how was it specifically related to the issue at hand?
One of the matters to be settled between the two groups is the issue of the use of the city attorney’s services. That very real problem , one that needs definition, was barely touched. But why is it such a problem now, when this has not been in the past? “Advocacy”, dollars billed, what’s the real quandry?
Accusations about the Charter commissions intentions, based on the reading of their minutes were made by a councilperson, and defended by the commission’s chair. Although council members constantly reiterate that the Chart/comm is an independent body, they seem to want to control even the parameters of the discussion that occurs at that commission.
If the council wants to have the citizens believe that they are always acting in the best interests of the community, they need to have the same level of expectation of trust for the individuals , who have been picked by the district chief judge, to manage the upkeep of the city’s charter.
Jan Mitchell, League of Women Voters School Board Observer, reported in her blog on the League’s site, that at the Monday evening meeting Paul Hager announced that he wasn’t going to reup for school board because he is running for city council.
School board member and former mayor Paul Hager is running for mayor again, according to this article in the Nfld News.
Interestinly, at Politics and a Pint we labeled the issue of the decision making process as the #1 problem facing the city. Kiff, you said
I think that you are overly generous here, I am willing to bet that in a closed book test the council would give several different answers to the question:
Absent a shared understanding it would be natural for a group of groups (the City Council, the City Staff, and the various commissions) to work and play together poorly at best. It bears repeating, the number one question we thought needed answering?
We will be looking for answers as we move into the final stretches of the election.
I wonder if the Charter Commission could put forward a change to a strong mayor system ? I think a strong mayor could act to fix obvious problems like the dangerous traffic jam at Division and Jefferson by quickly redirecting resources. I also think a strong mayor would go along way to enhance political decision making. The internet and blogs like locally grown are solid tools to check the worst impulses of a strong mayor system. Anything has to be better than what we have going now.
Um, it would help a lot if y’all would carry on the annexation discussion over in the annexation thread instead of here in the mayor/council election thread.
http://locallygrownnorthfield.org/archives/3304/
Stephanie, David L, Randy… can you copy/paste your comments over there?> Then I’ll delete them here.
Griff, maybe you can move the whole section? Otherwise they will be out of order as we cut and paste each one.
Okay, all recent annexation-related comments have been deleted here and copy/pasted into the Thoughts on Annexation in the Northwest message thread, comment #41.
Back to the original topic!
I saw Jessica Peterson tonight at her show at Grezzo Gallery and she said, after weighing all the pros and cons with her fiancee, she’s decided to NOT run for mayor.
I think Mary Rossing would make an excellent Mayor.
Thanks Martha. That is very sweet.
Dixon Bond for Mayor, God, Omnipotent and Benevolent Dictator Emertitus Rex. Brendon can be MZ Congestiality! There! Its Settled. Thank you very much.
Not sweet, Mary, just wishful and practical. You are a huge promoter of Northfield, you are fair, you have a gift for defusing tense situations. You are the RX for Northfield’s recovery! Vote Mary Rossing!
Hear, hear! I second Martha’s call for Mary to run for mayor. Her sense of humor, business acumen, and obvious commitment to the community would make her a great candidate.
Not to take anything away from the two already-announced candidates (David Hv and Paul Hager), but we need good choices locally when we go to the polling places in November--the more, and the more diverse their views and life experiences, the better.
please find a qualified mayor anyone but jon denison we can do much better than what we have now. we need a leader to heal our rifts and differences maybe someone like victor summa eh would be ideal he understands process
I had no idea, until last night, that Mary Rossing was considering running for mayor! I think it is a brilliant idea! I do, however, want to see what she is going to do with the chamber.
Mary can you fix the chamber first? Tomorrow fix the city and then the world! If anyone can do it YOU can! Of course, you know, you may have to give up your Sundays making yogurt and granola!
Julie
Regardless of who runs, and who is elected, the most important thing will be to change the dynamics at City Hall.
In my opinion, the entire fault does not lie with the elected officials. Much of it, not all … unless you want to say that they must take charge of the Senior Staff, which of course they should, but have shown virtually NO inclination to do. The bare, red-faced, aggressive body english challenge to the Mayor at Monday’s meeting was completely unacceptable. An employee is not to be denigrated for being an employee, rather than elected; but the authority is simply not the same. An employee should bring their professional skills, if they have them, to bear on a difficult situation, rather than initiating a conflict. More management skill, less raw aggression expressed as concern for other staff, especially those who are able to take care of themselves.
I am not the only person who thinks this was a serious violation; several other people of what I would consider to be of widely divergent general views, have expressed the same concern in the last two days.
This is a situation which demands high leadership skills; maybe the only way to manage it is by rigid adherence to procedural rules.
I agree with Kiffi that whomever takes the helm must have a firm grasp on parliamentary procedure, and must enforce Robert’s Rules of Order. We’ve got to follow the rules in order to move forward and make decisions, rather than floundering around in circular debate.
BTW, I was looking for a good link to the latest revised version of Robert’s rules, and didn’t find it (darn copyright protection) but found this cute basic quiz. I scored 80%. I would hope that anyone who wants to be a contender could score a perfect 100%!
http://www.rulesonline.com/home/Quiz.htm
Crap, Britt, I only got 80% too. (But that’s okay, because I don’t want to run either.)
I only got 50%, but that’s because I only knew one for sure, the one about the quorum, and I guessed the rest. However, if you ask me tomorrow, I bet I’d get 100% and know them for the next meeting.
However, I don’t think I’d get elected either way, not around here. ; )
Don’t count yourself out until you’ve tried!
Who should run for mayor? From the list I see above in the intro, I would like to give a nod to Dixon Bond, Victor Summa, and Ray Cox and Even Lee Lansing, and I will tell you why. Now I have not see anyone else in person
on this list, but I have heard Betsy and I will say she is good at listing.
In the case of the four gentlemen, each one has presented himself to me
willingly, generously and with a true love of serving people, imho.
They are passionate but clear headed men, for the most part.
Good luck to whomever decides to run.
Oh my!
Well, Bright’s endorsement will likely stop this thread. Everyone … up, off the floor!
Interesting … hmmm?
What I see in that list, regardless of who’d become mayor is a whole new style on the council; if Dixon, Ray, Lee and i were elected. And, talk about televised drama. Guaranteed high ratings … not to mention full houses every meeting.
Let’s see … Ray’s Third Ward. Dixon, Second or Mayor … and Lee, second or Mayor … and I’m at large!
Well that works. Most of those names are electable.
That was easy. So, why can’t Clinton and Obama work it out? Maybe Bright should give them a call.
Here, billy, billy, billy, here barry, barry, barry.
I’m sorry I couldn’t resist. Living across the street
from Griff has caught up with me.
Living here for a short time it has become very apparent to me that the powers in charge of Northfield are dysfunctional at best.
The citizens of Northfield are the ones to suffer. Common sense, fiscal responsibility and accountability have all been muddled by political infighting.
I don’t know the details on how we got here, but as an outsider this is painful to watch. It seems that even the most simple things have fallen victim to bickering and ill will.
Whoever we decide on to put in next has to be a complete departure from the usual suspects. Remember they got us here in the first place.
I will be looking for a professional businesslike approach to managing city affairs. We as citizen need to demand from our leaders that they have our best interests in mind and more importantly will stand up and be accountable for their actions. I’d rather have an honest member that admits his/her mistakes then a sneaky pretender that hides his/her agenda.
Erica Zweifel is running for Third Ward, according to this article in the Nfld News.
Councilor Scott Davis “has decided not to run for a second term,” according a story on the Nfld News website.
Rice County Commissioner Jim Brown announced last week that he’s not running for his District 5 seat:
http://www.faribault.com/news.php?viewStory=35682
Webster Township farmer Jeff Docken intends to file:
http://www.faribault.com/news.php?viewStory=35724
“District 5 covers Bridgewater Township, Forest Township, Lonsdale, part of Northfield, Webster Township and Wheatland Township.”
We’re less than week away from the opening filing date so I thought I’d add “How about school board and county board?” to this blog post title.
Rice County Board
http://www.co.rice.mn.us/board/index.php
School Board
http://www.nfld.k12.mn.us/schoolboard/members.shtml
The LWV has produced a candidate recruiting guide. Jane McWilliams blogged it on N.org at:
http://northfield.org/content/need-help-preparing-run-office
The PDF: http://northfield.org/files/Recruiting%20brochure-3.pdf
The School Board’s 4 At-Large seats are to be contested… and County Board Districts 1, 4, and 5 are up, too.
I’m running for a seat on the school board. My previous (non-elected) public service includes two terms on the Northfield Public Library Board (two years as secretary) and three years on the school district’s District Educational Program Advisory Committee (DEPAC), serving on the assessment subcommittee. I’ve also been a substitute teacher in Northfield (K-8) and at Minneapolis South High School. I’d be happy to talk about my candidacy after I return from three weeks of vacation, followed by hernia surgery at the end of July!
Hello all. My mom thought it would be funny if I announced her candidacy for Scott Davis’ second ward city council seat, since I’ve been bugging her to run. a Northfield News article should appear on Saturday.
Rob Hardy for school board. Yay! Betsey Buckheit for 2nd Ward Councilor. Yay!
Thanks for the alert, Elizabeth.
Thanks Griff (and Elizabeth)! Yes, it’s true -- and I don’t know if “funny” would be the word I’d have used for Elizabeth announcing the news to LoGroNo. More like: it’s nice to have the youthful enthusiasm and support from a 13 year old who is not only my daughter, but is also someone interested in Northfield issues (I know she can at least name all the current Council members and knows a lot more about annexation than she probably ever wanted to after recent debates).
Good to hear about your plans, too, Rob!
Oh Betsey, and you didn’t even give me a hint when we celebrating Dennis and Katherine’s wedding anniversary the other night…
…all that talk about local politics and you sat there uncharacteristically silent…
…although I did seem to sense a Mona Lisa smile.
I guess I’ll have to go to Elizabeth to get all the breaking news.
Elizabeth, I hope your mom hires you as her campaign chair. In the meantime, I’ve removed the “Betsey’s daughter” from your Locally Grown name. You can be your own person here! Next task: get yourself and your mom Gravatars. She’ll never win as a lettuce-head.
I saw Wendy Smith last night. She confirmed that she’s not running again for School Board. And a city hall insider who wishes to remain anonymous told me yesterday that Lee Lansing has filed to run for mayor. Evidently there’s a clause that allows for people to file prior to the opening of filing if they will be out of town during the filing period.
The Nfld News has a story today titled: Local political scene tough but worthwhile?
http://northfieldnews.com/news.php?viewStory=23046
The too-small-to-read-on-the-web graphic of who’s running and who’s not for council/mayor/school board says that Katy Hargis is going to run for school board again.
In the body of the article:
I hadn’t heard this. The web pages for both show that he’s still a member of both:
http://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/government/boards/economicdevauthority
http://www.ci.northfield.mn.us/government/boards/chartercommission
Last night there was a rumor going ’round the JuneBug that Wendy Smith was going to challenge Kris Vohs for the at-large seat. I see today in the News that she’s not running for re-election to the School Board in order to pursue other challenges. She’s got community-wide name recognition, is a few decades younger, after eight years on the Board knows how to play vigorously but respectfully in the school yard, and is a talented singer and guitarist. It’s a pretty appealing package.
I have to mention another name for the at-large seat, David Koenig. We have been hearing from him lately on Locally Grown, and he has a great column in Saturday paper comparing city manager and strong mayor forms of government. He served two years on the Council in the past, and his expertise in the area of finance is unsurpassed.
Mary Rossing is running for Mayor. Here’s her press release:
Mary,
You are a great leader, and I am happy to hear that you will run for mayor. You can count on me to help you with the campaign.
I have much admiration for all of the candidates in the upcoming mayoral election (as well as for those choosing to seek council seats). To run for office requires a significant amount of passion and concern for this community — it’s much easier to talk about “change” vs. being an actual agent for change.
With that in mind, I am pleased to learn of Mary’s candidacy. Yes, I admit she’s a good friend. And as such, I’ve witnessed first-hand over the years her ability to “build bridges and mend fences.” Her enthusiasm for this town is such an inspiration — and I thank and credit her for my own civic involvement. When I moved here six years ago, I didn’t know anyone. But with her encouragement, I took the plunge. Now, I can’t imagine not being involved. I love this town and it’s people like Mary that make it such a wonderful place.
I very much look forward to the upcoming election. We are very fortunate to have a group of committed citizens willing to push up their shirt sleeves and work hard to better our community.
Mary,
I think you would make a great mayor! You understand the dynamics of what is involved. You are a fantastic people person, one who really cares about Northfield and the residents. Your community involvement has shown all of us what kind of mayor you would be.
All the best to you!
Julie