Chisholm 2026 Election Guide

Contributed

Age on Election Day: 62

Employment: I recently retired after 31 years with Verizon. My last position was as a Sr. Analyst in the Financial Planning and Analysis department.

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

I worked for a large corporation in a total of six different departments. But more importantly, I worked on projects with dozens of departments, each with their own view of the company and their own, sometimes competing goals. I lead monthly calls with upper management to review financials and project results. I also taught taekwondo for 10 years to all age groups. My experience has taught me not only how to communicate knowledge but also to understand other people’s point of view. I help people understand each other’s points of view then we work together to find the solution best for all concerned.

Why are you running?

When I moved to Chisholm, I said I wanted to make meaningful contributions to my adopted community. I recently retired and have been focusing my energy towards that goal. So when several prominent Chisholm citizens, whom I greatly respect, came forward and said “we need you, you need to run”, I couldn’t say no. I believe I can work with the city council to help restore our community’s confidence in our city government.

Why should voters elect you?

Since I did not grow up here, I don’t owe favors or have obligations. I don’t already have opinions on many subjects so I seek input from the community and I frequently ask the experts “why” because “that’s the way we’ve always done it” is sometimes not sufficient in our changing times. I am retired so I have time to devote to the job and a passion for my new/forever hometown. I have the analytical, teambuilding and presentation skills to get the job done and I will approach each issue objectively, applying reason, logic and compassion while staying within the guidelines of our city charter and code of conduct.

Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.

In Chisholm, the Mayor facilitates the council meetings and represents the city before the MN legislature and other government bodies. As part of the Council, the Mayor passes ordinances, levies taxes and works with the City Clerk-Treasurer to finalize the city budget and capital improvement plans. The Mayor is also charged with working with other officers and city employees to ensure ongoing maintenance, operations and the future of the town.

Name a public leader you admire and explain why.

I admire anyone who is willing to lead during hard times. Winston Churchill is an excellent example of someone who knew he would face decisions where even a right decision made for the right reasons would still cost people’s lives and cause suffering. There are several photos of him where you can just see the burden he bore for his country, written all over his face.

What are the three biggest issues your city is facing?

The three I hear from most people are aging infrastructure, housing and blight.

Which of those three issues is most important to you, and how would you address it if elected?

The most important will depend on who is involved in the conversation, but only one of these issues impacts everyone and that is our aging infrastructure. I will work with our Public Works Supervisor and City Engineer to make sure they have the tools and resources they need to keep our town running properly.

What steps, if any, would you take to support or oppose data centers?

I vehemently oppose data centers. We need to look at locations that have succeeded in keeping data centers out of their states. We should not wait until one is knocking on our door before we come up with a plan to keep them out.

Many Northern Minnesota cities are experiencing tightening budgets. Where would you propose making cuts, if needed?

To answer that question, I would need to not only take a deeper dive into the budget but also to work with the various departments to look for cost savings and for services can be scaled back or, if necessary, eliminated

Contributed

Age on Election Day: 39

Employment: Chisholm Public Schools Activities Director/Special Education Teacher

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

I have been elected to the Chisholm City Council three times over the past eight years. It has been an honor to serve our community, and I hope to continue that service as Mayor. During my time on the Council, I have gained valuable experience in planning, budgeting, grant funding, and community projects. As the Activities Director at Chisholm High School, I work closely with our schools and the City, building partnerships that help move Chisholm forward. These experiences have allowed me to collaborate with residents, local businesses, community organizations, and fellow leaders to make thoughtful decisions that strengthen our community and prepare Chisholm for the future.

Why are you running?

I am running for Mayor of Chisholm because I am passionate about serving my community. I have gained valuable experience in budgeting, planning, securing grant opportunities, and community projects that have helped move Chisholm forward. If elected, my priorities will be expanding housing opportunities, supporting economic development, and continuing to invest in our roads and infrastructure. I believe attracting new families and businesses will strengthen our tax base and help ensure a vibrant future for our community. I am committed to building on that through responsible leadership, fiscal responsibility, collaboration, community involvement, and a clear vision for the future of Chisholm. I refer to Chisholm as the "Heartbeat of the Iron Range" because I believe our community has the people, pride, and potential to lead the region into the future.

Why should voters elect you?

During my 8 years on the Chisholm City Council, I have helped move Chisholm forward through projects that strengthen our community and invest in our future. Together, we’ve completed an $11 million Public Safety Building at no cost to local taxpayers, a $5 million Tomassoni Arena and Curling Club upgrade, improvements at Redhead Mountain Bike Park, nearly annual mill-and-overlay street projects, a revenue-producing campground, and a master plan for our Lake Park area. We’ve also welcomed new businesses to our Industrial Park, with more opportunities ahead.

As Mayor, I will build on that progress by focusing on housing, economic development, infrastructure, fiscal responsibility, and growing our tax base.

Chisholm is the Heartbeat of the Iron Range. Let’s keep it moving forward.

Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.

Lead the City of Chisholm forward by guiding the council and staff to ensure we continue to better Chisholm every single day while staying fiscally responsible and ensuring that we take every possible avenue to build our tax base and increase our population.

Name a public leader you admire and explain why.

I have a deep admiration for former Mayor John Champa. I was very fortunate to be elected the same year that he was and serve with him for 4 years in the City of Chisholm. He taught me a lot about local government, when to push and when to be cautious, how to work with the City Staff to ensure they are always feeling supported and also ensuring they are working to improve Chisholm.

What are the three biggest issues your city is facing?

Decreasing tax base, not enough taxes and LGA coming into Chisholm, Housing

Which of those three issues is most important to you, and how would you address it if elected?

Tax Base is the most important to me without a question. I will immediately begin working with our team and the Chisholm EDA to start getting some houses built in Chisholm to increase our tax base. I will also be working with our team to reach out to potential businesses who might be a good fit for Chisholm, which is located in the heart of the Iron Range.

What steps, if any, would you take to support or oppose data centers?

Chisholm is a community where I would not support a data center. We are too small and land-locked to even explore the idea of a data center.

Many Northern Minnesota cities are experiencing tightening budgets. Where would you propose making cuts, if needed?

I don't think we need to make huge cuts for the City of Chisholm Budget. I am involved in budget talks amongst the City and our city staff work extremely hard to get to their lowest budget asks and we are very creative to ensure we have a budget that is balanced.

Incumbent

Age on Election Day: 47

Employment: City of Hibbing , firefighter/Paramedic

Please share any prior experience and education that you believe qualifies you for office.

I’ve served on public utilities commission and represented the city of Chisholm on the Cirssd board. I am also finishing up my first term on the city council.

Why are you running?

I am running to keep moving our city in a direction that aligns with our comprehensive plan that is in place. I have been apart of several major projects that the city has taken on the past 3.5 years and would like to see the remainder of them through fruition. The projects include the Chisholm Public Building, Wenton Addition, Public works facility/Bus Garage and several street/alley projects along with infill projects for vacant lots across the city.

Why should voters elect you?

I am a hard working individual that has built several relationships throughout the years with our local, state and federally elected officials. I am fully committed to the job as councilor and will keep the city along with the taxpayers FIRST!

Please describe the roles and responsibilities of the office you are running for.

City councilor.Attend monthly meetings and attend assigned committee meetings.

Name a public leader you admire and explain why.

Pete Stauber. He is a honest hard working individual that stands up for what he believes and he’s not afraid to say it.

What are the three biggest issues your city is facing?

If can think of 4 things. Public Safety being number one a long with Aging infrastructure, Declining population and increasing costs.

Which of those three issues is most important to you, and how would you address it if elected?

Declining population. Use our existing comprehensive plan along with the major projects we have in the works to drive ip the population in the city.

What steps, if any, would you take to support or oppose data centers?

I don’t have a personal opinion on them. If a data center company came to our community saying they wanted to build a facility, I would give them same opportunity to present themselves like any other business.

Many Northern Minnesota cities are experiencing tightening budgets. Where would you propose making cuts, if needed?

I believe that the city of chisholm needs to down size its footprint. What I mean by footprint is that we need to downsize and get rid of the unused buildings the city owns which reduces costs such as utilities and insurance obligations. This would save the taxpayers lots of money per year.

KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.

KAXE did not receive a response from this candidate.