Make no mistake. Vern Rasmussen is the right candidate for mayor of Albert Lea. We urge our readers in the city to vote for him next Tuesday.

The city has more troubles than usual right now and needs a strong, communicative mayor and city manager to lead. The next mayor will have a key role in selecting the next city manager, which could be important for the shaping the nature of city government for five, 10 or 20 years.

In past elections, this Editorial Board has said mayors ought to serve as a councilor first before taking the role of mayor. We still favor that route to the city’s top office, and Rasmussen’s six years as a councilor will be invaluable as a mayor.

Rasmussen wants cohesiveness between the council and the city manager — after all, the city manager works for the council — and he wants a city manager who can be a change agent. We agree on both of the points.

One of the primary reasons we like Rasmussen is that he is receptive to out-of-the-box thinking when it comes to saving money.

Don’t merely ask: “Can we afford it?” That produces a yes or no answer, often based on inflated cost estimates.

“How can we get this done with available resources if we all collaborate?” That is the kind of approach City Hall has done at its best moments and should do more often.

Rasmussen also has been part of a council that has prepared Albert Lea for state cuts and is knowledgeable enough to guide it through more. He goes to St. Paul. He knows the right people. He agrees on matters such as policy governance, extending the mayoral term to four years, improving the working climate for city employees, getting more residents to be part of the city’s decision-making process, being open to the public, having more patience in making decisions, navigating with care some of the city-county disagreements on the Bridge Avenue expansion and making interactions between residents and city government more pleasant.

He said the city needs to live up to its workplace motto: Enhance the quality of life for future and present generations.

We couldn’t agree more.

Vote for Rasmussen on Nov. 2.