Here’s a quick rundown from some of last night’s races. Click on the links, where applicable, for the full story.
• St. Michael City Council, Mayor – Zachman Earns Another Term, Gulick and Schoen Win Council Seats
• Albertville City Council, Mayor –Hendrickson Turns Back Challenge, Olson and Hudson to Council
• St. Michael-Albertville School Board – St. Michael-Albertville School Board Adds Peyerl; Lindquist and Weber Survive
• Wright County Sheriff – Joe Hagerty, St. Michael, Earns Second Term as Wright County Sheriff
• US Sixth District Congress (MN), Senate and MN Gov. – Emmer Will Head to D.C., Franken and Dayton Buck Trends for DFL
• Elk River and Buffalo School Referenda – School Measures Pass Easily in Elk River, Buffalo School Districts
And a few more rundowns:
Eric Lucero rolled to an easy victory for the State House District 30B seat, taking over for David FitzSimmons of Albertville. The former Dayton City Council member and small business owner will join a new House Majority when he heads to St. Paul in the early part of 2015.
Lucero garnered nearly 68 percent of the vote over challenger Sharon Shimek.
“Thank you to the voters for trusting me to be their voice in Saint Paul. I look forward to, and am committed to, representing their values and priorities in the House. Thank you to my campaign team especially my wife, Erum, for working so hard with me. I will bring that same work ethic with me to Saint Paul where I look forward to working on equity in education, expanding I-94, and helping to stop the exodus of state businesses from the harmful, anti-jobs policies of Gov. Dayton and the Democrats.”
• In Otsego, incumbents Tom Darkenwald and Vern Heidner held on to their seats with 301 percent and 27 percent of the votes, respectively. Paul Bolin, who has previously taken attempts at the Minnesota Legislature missed a seat by about 250 votes. Patrick Brink came in fourth.
• Monticello will have a new mayor, and, without a doubt, a recount. Brian Stumpf cruised to a victory over Joshua Dickinson and Glen Posusta with 55 percent of the vote, more than 1,000 more votes than his nearest competitor. But in the race for city council, which had two open seats, it’s unclear who will join Lloyd Hilgart in the winner’s circle. Right now, according to the Secretary of State’s Website, Charlotte Gabler leads Jim Davidson by just six votes, 1,466 to 1,460, or .1 percent, which is within the county’s recount margin.
• Hanover will stay steady, with Ken Warpula leading last night’s election with 529 votes. In the race to replace Wendy Pinor, whose term expires, Jim Zajicek held off Joe Kaul with 486 votes. Kaul had 352, while Doug Nordberg and Nathan Brown both finished well off the pace with 231 and 167 votes, respectively.
• Mark Daleiden of St. Michael cruised to re-elction in the Wright County Commission race. He was unopposed.
• Finally in Elk River Schools, Shane Steinbrecher defeated Larry Farber in District 1, while Jane Bunting ran unopposed in District 2. Jamie Plantenberg-Selbtischka and Tamie Walter earned the at-large seats.