Tofte is the only township that has a contested race in the March 8, 2016 election. Incumbent Supervisor Jim King is running for re-election and he is being challenged by Sarah Somnis. To help voters make a decision on who to vote for, the Cook County News- Herald asked the candidates a few questions.
Tell us a little about yourself
King: I’ve been a property owner in Tofte since 1983 and a full-time resident since 2003. I have tried to be an active participant in the community. In addition to six years as township supervisor, some of my efforts have included volunteering at Birch Grove School as a swimming instructor, craft provider, lunch cook; on the Tofte Historical Society/Commercial Fishing Museum Board; as board member of the Cook County Curling Club; a ski school instructor; on the Superior National at Lutsen EDA golf committee and chair of Friends of Superior National; as a North House Folk School volunteer; chair of the Association of Lake and Cook Counties Township Officers; as Cook County’s representative on the Governors Council on Lake Superior Coastal Program; as a DNR loon monitor; a member of the MN Power citizen panel and as a member of the Cook County Go Team.
Somnis: I grew up in Tofte and went to school at Birch Grove and in Grand Marais for a brief time. Our family relocated to Virginia where I went to high school. I’ve returned to the North Shore—to the same house I grew up in!
I’ve worked a variety of jobs in the hospitality industry in the area, from Grand Marais to Tofte. I’m currently working as quality control assistant manager with Cascade Vacation Rentals.
I live with August Schauland and our 5½-year-old daughter Lynda in Tofte. We are both active in the community; he’s a member of the Tofte Fire Department and I’m currently a member of the Birch Grove Community School board—if elected I would resign, but I will still continue to volunteer. We are all members of the Superior Timberwolves.
Why are you running for supervisor?
King: I think that’s very simple. Because I think we’ve made significant progress in the last six years that I have been supervisor, on many fronts, such as housing and the Birch Grove campus. I want to see that progress continue.
Somnis: I want people to be able to live and thrive in Tofte at all ages and stages of life. I think that I have a unique perspective of what is good for Tofte because four generations of my family currently live here and I plan to stay here for the rest of my life.
I know the decisions made today at the township level affect the future of Tofte and I want to be part of that. It’s a good time for young leadership to step up.
Funding for Birch Grove Community School/Birch Grove Community Center is an oftendiscussed topic. Do you have any ideas on keeping the facility viable?
King: Yes, I do, actually in my opinion the entire West End needs the Birch Grove facility and by that I mean the school, programs for seniors and recreational programs.
As we move forward with the housing units we’re working on, the Birch Grove campus will support and enhance the housing project— and vice versa. It will be a symbiosis here.
As a small community, we need the best efforts of all of these entities— the community, the school and seniors. All are separate, but all are important.
Somnis: The school board is working on a five-year sustainability plan, which includes the fact that 20 babies have recently been born, or will be born soon, in the community. The school will create an overall plan to take to the townships. We are looking at all kinds of different models.
The fundraising efforts of the school board, staff and parents are fantastic—the biggest of all the charter schools. We’re working very hard at being self-sufficient and we were until enrollment declined last year. We are on an upswing again and hopefully, with housing more available, that will continue.
I don’t know a lot about the Foundation’s finances, but if I were elected I would certainly learn everything I could. Hopefully the community center can be a place that brings everyone together and all of the entities can find a way to work together. I’m feeling very positive about the community center and the school and the fresh new perspectives involved.
What more can be done to meet the need for housing in Tofte?
King: Basically what we are waiting for is final approval from the state legislature. We have no control over that, but we believe that we’ll get the backing of our legislators. Once we get their approval, we are reasonably certain that we will get state bonding for the housing project.
Somnis: It sounds like the senior housing project has become housing for all and that’s great for the future of the community, for the good of all of us. We’ll have to see how that pans out, but I look forward to working with the townspeople and the EDA to see that the housing project goes well.
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