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3 new FF councilors elected [UPDATED]
Published 9:52am Wednesday, November 7, 2012 Updated 11:56am Wednesday, November 7, 2012Incumbent Eric Shelstad was ousted by Ben Schierer in the city council Ward 2 race, and according to Schierer, voters swung his way so they could have their voices heard.
“The community feels like they haven’t had a voice in city government, and I’m really looking forward to making sure they have a voice in City Hall,” Schierer said.
Schierer served on the council from 2004 to 2008 but chose not to run for another term. Four years later, however, things changed, and he said there are a lot of things happening in the city right now, and community members need strong leadership.
“I think there are going to be a lot of issues that will come up,” he said. “Specifically, I think we need to look at the RTC and the Kirkbride as an opportunity for economic development. They have done it in other communities, and I think we can do it here.”
Fish wins Ward 2
For 23 of the last 26 years, Jim Fish has sat on the city council, and he will serve Ward 2 for at least four more years.
Fish said he was elected by voters because people know who he is and trust him.
“I’m going to continue to do what the people of my ward want me to do,” he said.
Fish is the only council member with an expiring term to be elected, but he said he doesn’t think it will change things too much.
“We have all the same staff who look out for everything,” he said. “The city will run no matter who is on the council.”
Rundquist takes Ward 3
With three new faces running for Ward 3, Tim Rundquist was able to take the win in a tight race.
With only a 10 percent difference between the three candidates, Rundquist was able to top Wally Cole and Mike Diekman, getting 38.67 percent of votes.
Hicks captures Ward 4
With hopes of bringing change to the city council, Anthony Hicks was selected by voters over Tim King and Pam Ness in Ward 4.
Hicks will be one of three new council members to serve for the next four years, and he said he is excited to bring a new perspective to City Hall.
“I have lived here for 16 years, and I want to give something back,” he said.
Hicks said he thinks Fergus Falls residents want to see change in local government, and that is what he is trying to deliver.
“I think an open-minded approach to the issues at hand is what we need, and I think we have to do more thinking outside of the box,” he said.
With Mr. Fish going back in to be serving (even if it is by absenteeism) gives a very good arguement for limiting the amount of terms a person can hold office. There are many other elected positions that are limited and city officials that are elected should also be in that catagory.
Ditto. I say that not as a condemnation of Jim Fish, but rather, would like it to apply to mayors, city attorneys, school board members. Put a new butt in the chair now and then to keep the padding from being permanently molded so the chair can’t be occupied by anyone else’s rear end.
“Fish said he was elected by voters because people know who he is and trust him.”
Fish is living in a dream world. The only reason Fish was reelected is because the three people running against him split the vote. The three running against Fish were more concerned with their own election than replacing Fish for the good of the city.
As far as trusting Fish….I trust him to deny me the right to vote.
In as much as Jim Fish thinks the people in his precinct “Trust” him, perhaps he could explain how more people voted against him (885) than voted for him (799). His thinking on election results is just as faulty as his arrogant thinking on refusing to allow citizens the right to vote on his ice palace.