Mayoral candidates:

Could you tell our citizens/taxpayers how you feel about Ellen Kehr’s SHIP coordinator paid county job and being a city councilwoman? Do you feel that there is a conflict of interest or not?

Even though the Tribune is a member of the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, I was wanting more answers from the Tribune on this issue. Where is this money?

The SHIP grant is $190,000; if you go to www.healthyfreeborncounty.org, only $8,300 has been spelled out.

In the near future, another mayoral forum will be held, but the chamber decides what questions are worthy. Somehow, I don’t think it was wrong to ask at the last forum whether or not the executive director, Randy Kehr, and his wife’s numerous positions are conflicts of interest. Hopefully, the editor will allow the question here.

Is this right? What will you, if anything, do about it if elected as mayor? In Mr. Mike Murtaugh’s case, why wasn’t anything done?

Points to ponder for the citizens, taxpayers and mayoral candidates:

• The city statute statement that was used as a reason for Kehr to keep her position as a city councilwoman and/or SHIP coordinator for the county was written and hasn’t been amended since 1979. It mentions nothing about county jobs or county positions.

• Both Randy Kehr and Lois Ahern (who hired the unqualified Kehr being paid $22 per hour due to who she knows rather than interviewing anyone else for the position) are both on the Vitality Team, which can also apply for grants in which Ellen Kehr decides on.

• Ellen Kehr is the wife of the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Kehr is president of ALEDA and the Port Authority, which Dan Dorman proclaims that these two are not the same entity. There needs to be more transparency about these roles.

Tonya Lynch

Albert Lea