Third Ward Councilor Ellen Kehr filed for re-election Wednesday.

Kehr, who was first elected to the Albert Lea City Council in 2008, said she is pleased with what has taken place during the last four years and hopes she can continue to work on some of the projects that have started.

“I’ve worked really hard and learned a lot,” she said. “I’ve represented them to the best of my ability.”

She said she has a “good working relationship” with the other councilors and that all of the councilors have created several strong partnerships on the federal, state and local level in recent years that help protect the quality of life in Albert Lea and Greater Minnesota.

“Our partners are critical to getting things done,” she said. “They have gotten us funding, advocated for us.”

She noted she also thinks she and the council have been sensitive to the economic challenges people are facing.

In the last four years she has been on the council, councilors voted for zero percent levy increases for two of those years.

“We’re learning more efficient ways to do things,” she said. “And with each challenge comes sometimes a solution and a blessing.”

Looking ahead to the next few years, Kehr said the biggest projects for her ward will be bringing infrastructure out to the Hill’s Garden area and reconstructing Ninth Street.

She also hopes that as the economy improves, the Fountain Centers project moves forward, which with that would come the opportunity for the city to complete the Sunset extension — and bring a second access to people near the City Arena.

She is excited about the National Vitality Center’s efforts and has made it a goal to encourage those efforts.

Kehr is a consultant with The President’s Network, a collaborative between Blue Cross Blue Shield and the Minnesota Department of Health, working on health initiatives in communities across the state.

She and her husband Randy, the executive director of the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, have two children and two grandchildren.

Filing continues through June 5.