Primary candidates face off in forum

Published 8:48 am Friday, July 29, 2022

By alexguerrero

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The City Council Chambers were packed Thursday night as residents attended a candidate forum for City Council Ward 6, Freeborn County Board of Commissioners District 2 and Freeborn County sheriff before the upcoming primary elections Aug. 9. 

The forum, which started at 6 p.m., was hosted by Mike Woitas from KATE Radio and was streamed on the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.

 

Albert Lea Ward 6

The first candidates to speak were Ward 6 candidates Brian “BJ” Anderson, Carmen McColley and Nick Ronnenberg.

During opening remarks, Anderson described himself as a “numbers guy” and said that particular trait was important when dealing with budgets, and also said he was an “agent of change” who would not be afraid to speak up for what he believed in, even if it meant upsetting people.

Ronnenberg, who is involved in a number of different clubs around Albert Lea, said his biggest concerns were finding tax relief, community development, support for law enforcement and neighborhood safety.

McColley said she had been involved with a number of boards, and said she knew what it took to get things to happen being a mother of a child with special needs.

Woitas’ first question was on ways to cut back and not raise taxes to cover items when the city faces large monetary items needing to be addressed in the next year, such as work at the wastewater treatment plant.

McColley said she would work to “make sure the bids are worked on” and that it was important to decide on them quickly after receiving them “so the bids don’t go up by the time we make them happen.”

Ronnenberg said besides planning for the project, the council should look at other areas where cutbacks or redirections could be made.

“A project like that is probably not going to be paid for in one year, so an ongoing project, if you have to have a levy in one area in order to avoid having … an increase in tax, you have to try to just look at where there are some other areas where you can either cut back or have a delayed project on some other funds so you can get a big project like that done,” he said.

Anderson, who said taxes have gone up due to an increase in housing values, said taxes cannot be raised.

“There are a lot of ways to control the costs,” he said. “Sometimes that means delaying a project, … sometimes … it means hurrying up and getting something started quickly so that the bid doesn’t change. Construction costs are going up a ton.”

Woitas also asked candidates what they felt the most important issue was for Albert Lea that needed addressing.

Anderson said taxes were the most important issue for local residents.

“There’s a ton of projects that are coming up, and sometimes we have to prioritize the projects that we’re doing now so we have that money available next year when we need to do the big things,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff in the pipeline, and the council needs to be forward-looking with that kind of stuff. We need to not just budget one year or one meeting at a time, we need to slow down the pipeline in some areas and speed it up in others.”

Ronnenberg agreed with Anderson, and said while speaking with people taxes came up most frequently.

“I’ve literally had people talk about getting taxed right out of their house,” he said. “I think what we need to do is grow the tax base so that we can take pressure off of the career homeowners that we have.”

McColley’s biggest concerns for Albert Lea were mental health and the workforce. She focused particularly on the workforce.

“There’s a lot of businesses coming in, everyone wants business to come to Albert Lea,” she said. “But do we have the workforce to lift them up?”

She said if there is not the workforce, businesses would empty out, which in turn could leave people vulnerable.

 

Freeborn County commissioner District 2 

The second forum saw candidates running for county commissioner race District 2. Dawn Kaasa, Steve Kluver and Scott Woitas fielded a variety of questions from moderator Mike Woitas. A fourth candidate, Henry Tews, could not attend.

Mike Woitas asked the three candidates in attendance a hypothetical question: What would they do if they received a $1 million grant and why?

Scott Woitas said he would look at creating capital profile budgets for the different departments and dividing the money “so that we fund these projects for years to come.”

He also said doing so would help lower taxes by planning for the future.

Kaasa placed an emphasis on voters, and said she would check with voters within her district as well as other commissioners in deciding where the need for the money could go.

“You have to be forward-thinking, so maybe if there was a project that was going to be stalled off for a few years that perhaps could be done at an earlier time,” she said. “We also want to set some money aside so that you have reserves.

Kluver said for an entire county $1 million was not much, but noted previous commissioners started a project to build a storm shelter on the south side of Albert Lea.

“If I had an extra million dollars then I would also want that to be a community and activity center down in that part of town so the residents can enjoy the south side for their graduations, open houses and family events.”

He also said the money could help with the playground as well as parking.

Mike Woitas asked the candidates to describe what they felt was the main role of a county commissioner as it related to governance.

“The role as commissioner is you are the ambassador for your constituents,” Kluver said. “When it comes time to take phone calls, you’ve got to be reacting to those phone calls. Do your research, get the facts and vote accordingly.”

Kaasa agreed with Kluver, and said the biggest role was being a communicator and representing district voters.

“You want to be accessible to them, and be willing to take their questions and concerns forward when you’re at a board meeting,” she said. “It’s not necessarily your voice. You are representing all of the district voters.

Scott Woitas said the biggest role was representing people who voted them into office and ensuring tax money was spent appropriately with full dollar value. 

Mike Woitas read a prepared statement from Tews before the forum began.

“I’m running to bring some rural common sense to the county board,” Tews said in the statement. “I have the experience of serving as a London Township supervisor for the last 10 years.”

 

Freeborn County sheriff

In the final forum of the evening, Dale Glazier, Ryan Shea and Jeff Strom, all running for Freeborn County sheriff, pitched why they should be the next sheriff.

“I have lived in Freeborn County for the past 35 years, ever since I was hired by the city of Albert Lea as a police officer in 1987,” Strom said. “I spent almost the entirety of my law enforcement career with Albert Lea Police Department with the exception of two or three months in a small town out in western Minnesota. 

“The last 26 years of my law enforcement career I’ve spent as a lieutenant with Albert Lea Police Department.”

He said he had the energy and dedication needed to promote change within the sheriff’s office, and because he has not worked “in the current culture” felt he had outside ideas and experiences needed to transition the office to a more “community-oriented approach.

In his opening statement, Shea, who has been with the Freeborn County Sheriff’s Office for 22 years, said he served as a resource for everyone he has worked with.

“There’s many times people are in my office all throughout the day asking questions on their current cases and where to go with things,” said Shea, who works as a detective. “I answer my phone at all times of the day and all times at night to help other officers with their questions on cases.”

Glazier has been in law enforcement for over 19 years and said he was running on a new vision for the county.

“To me, that stands for common sense,” he said. “We need to be fully staffed. We can’t work drugs, DWIs and other road things without being fully staffed.

“We are a rural community, we need to be there for the citizens of our community, and we need to work with other departments and work well together,” he said. “We need an office that respects each other, and that comes from the top down. We need to be able to work together.”

Woitas also asked the candidates what they felt their greatest strengths and weaknesses were.

Glazier said he was a good communicator and had an ability to work with everybody.

“Communication is huge,” he said. “You have to have good direction and you have to work with everybody. You have to work with people within your department and you have to work with other agencies.”

He said he did not know what his greatest weaknesses were, but admitted his children said he was stubborn.

Shea said his strength was character, and described himself as a “stand up guy” who told the truth whether or not someone wanted to hear it.

He admitted his biggest weakness was his tendency to take on too much.

“I typically say ‘Yes,’” he said. “I just feel a strong duty to serve, I’m always wanting to serve other people, I’m always involved in the community.”

Strom said his strength was dedication, energy, commitment and work ethic.

And like Shea, for Strom that was also a weakness, and said he took calls from people at all times of the day, and said his wife would attest to that. 

To see all three forums in their entirety, visit the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.  

More News

Democrats claw back education funding bill over end to unemployment benefits for school workers

Burglary reported, bicycles taken and other reports

Southwest Middle School to perform one-act play, “Murder at the Art Show” on Friday

Enrollment is up in health care program for undocumented Minnesotans. GOP wants it to go.

Print Article

SportsPlus