It is definitely a major election year. The contest for two county commissioner district seats and the sheriff race is heating up with campaign ads, lawn signs and candidates door-knocking. This week a few more opportunities open for citizens wishing to seek office. The filing period for seats on the Grand Marais City Council, Independent School District 166 and the Cook County North Shore Hospital is open July 29 – August 12.
At press time, only the incumbents serving on the Cook County North Shore Hospital Board had announced that they were considering or would be filing.
Grand Marais City Council
In Grand Marais there will be three seats on the ballot, for mayor and two council seats. Those seats are currently held by Mayor Larry Carlson and Councilors Bob Spry and Bill Lenz.
Anyone interested in running for those seats can file at Grand Marais City Hall between 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. The filing fee is $2. Candidates must live in the city of Grand Marais.
Another opportunity to serve on the city council may occur in January 2015. City Councilor Jan Sivertson is not up for reelection on the council this year, but she has filed to run for County Commissioner District 3. She is running unopposed so unless someone launches a major write-in campaign, she will certainly be elected.
She would be sworn in as county commissioner in January 2015. The city council will then have the option of appointing someone to complete her term.
School District 166
There are also three terms expiring for the School District 166 school board this year. The seats held by Jeanne Anderson in District 5 and Deb White in District 1 will be on the ballot. Anderson currently serves as chair of the school board.
The other seat, District 2, is held by Leslie Ann Sullivan. She was appointed to fulfill the term when Mary Sanders retired.
Candidates for school board must file with the Cook County auditor’s office at the courthouse. The auditor’s office is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m. The office stays open until 5 p.m. on the last filing day, August 12, which is also the day polls are open for the primary election.
There is a $2 filing fee and candidates must live in the district they are wishing to represent.
North Shore Hospital Board
Three Cook County Hospital Board members will be up for reelection this fall.
In District 1 incumbent Sharon Bloomquist is expected to run again while Howard Abrahamson in District 3 and Thomas Spence in District 5 are also filing for reelection.
Anyone wishing to run for the hospital board in those districts needs to file at the Cook County Auditor’s Office. The fee for filing is $2. Candidates must live in the district they are wishing to represent.
When asked if he was running for the District 3 seat again Abrahamson laughed, “Yes I am. After all of this, I can’t quit now.”
Abrahamson was referring to the $20 million rehabilitation and rebuilding project for the North Shore Hospital and Care Center that after years of discussing is in the final planning stages.
Abrahamson wasn’t sure whether he had served four or five terms on the hospital board, but added, “I have been in health care either directly or indirectly for 57 years. I started off as the business manager at St. Mary’s Hospital in Minneapolis, then worked for Fairview International in Egypt and Saudi Arabia. We moved here 22 years ago and I worked for a time at Grand Portage Health Center. Then I went on the hospital board.”
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