Only sure of what they don't want

Star Tribune Sun, 01 Jun 2008 02:41:35 GMT
Filling Mayor Bill's shoes will be big job in North St. Paul

The eastside city will elect its first new mayor in 30 years, and 10 candidates are in the running. ... Customers aren't wearing T-shirts or buttons for the 10 candidates who have filed, Trollen said. There's few, if any, candidate lawn signs or advertising outside, even though the July 1 election is less than five weeks away. "There's been some discussion around the bar,'' Trollen said. "There are some people who want to stay with the old style [of running the city] and some people who want to be more progressive." "It will be interesting to see what happens,'' Trollen added. Predicting what happens is anyone's guess in North St. Paul, which has landed in a leadership void with the death of Sandberg. He had been the city's chief booster and longtime civic leader, showing up everywhere from high school hockey games to Chamber of Commerce events long before many residents were born. The 10 candidates include two North St. Paul City Council members and a member of the city's Parks and Recreation Commission. Their first -- and most likely only -- candidate forum has just been scheduled for 7:30 a.m. June 24 at the North St. Paul Community Center. ... North St. Paul residents clearly don't want the kind of acrimonious leadership that often characterizes its neighbor, Maplewood. But at issue in this election is whether to stay the steady, conciliatory course set by Sandberg or to chart a new path. Whoever the next mayor is, his or her influence will be tempered by the fact that North St. Paul is a "Plan B'' type of government, which means the city manager has greater authority for the city's day-to-day operations than the mayor. "We need someone who will let city staff do their jobs,'' said City Council Member Paul Anderson.

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