Although township elections are not held until March, the time for citizens interested in running for a town board seat to file is now. The filing period to run for treasurer or supervisor for the townships of Lutsen, Schroeder or Tofte opened January 1 and will close at 5 p.m. on January 15. Each of the townships is holding an election for a supervisor term of three years and a treasurer term of two years.
Lutsen supervisor resigns to be commissioner
At the Tuesday, December 16, Lutsen town meeting, incumbent Supervisor Ginny Storlie submitted a letter of resignation. Her colleagues were not surprised—Storlie has been elected to serve as the District 5 Cook County commissioner and she will be taking that seat in January.
That meant the town board had to appoint a citizen to fill her supervisor seat until the March 18, 2015 township elections. Clerk Amity Goettl said two applications to fill the vacancy had been received, from Colleen Brennan and Larry McNeally.
Supervisor Andrew Beavers noted that they would both do a good job, but said he appreciated that McNeally had come to the meeting. Resigning Supervisor Storlie said that doesn’t mean Brennan wasn’t interested. Storlie said in fact, she thought the applicants were not supposed to be in attendance at the meeting when the selection was made.
Beavers answered, “I haven’t seen Colleen at any meetings and Larry has been here frequently.”
Treasurer John Groth agreed, adding, “As a citizen, Larry has always been here, showing interest. He hasn’t been a ‘yes’ man; he’s brought up some tough questions.”
From the audience, Matt Kartes said, “He’s training officer for the fire department, he’s on the snowmobile club board. He’s been to all these meetings and knows how things work.”
Supervisor Tim Goettl made a motion to appoint McNeally to fill the vacant supervisor seat until the March election. Beavers seconded and the motion carried, with Storlie no longer able to cast a vote.
Storlie recalled that no one came forward to be on the ballot in the 2014 township election. She and Brennan both launched last minute write-in campaigns. “I think it’s really important for people to come forward. No one came forward in March. Colleen did. Whoever is appointed, they need to come forward and file to run for the office.”
Incumbent Treasurer John Groth said he would file to run again.
To file for office in Lutsen, contact Town Clerk Amity Goettl at (218) 663- 7501 or email lutsentownship@gmail.com.
Schroeder incumbents to file for reelection
Both of the Schroeder incumbents— Treasurer Alisha Kangas and Supervisor Deb Johnson have said they would run again. At the December 9 town meeting, Kangas said she planned to file for reelection. Supervisor Johnson was undecided at that time, but after the meeting, Johnson told the Cook County News-Herald that she would be filing.
To file for office in Schroeder, contact Town Clerk Doug Schwecke at (218) 663-7599.
Tofte incumbents plan to run
At the December 11 town meeting, incumbent Supervisor Paul James and incumbent Treasurer Bill Huggins both said they would file when the filing period opened.
To file for office in Tofte, contact Town Clerk Barb Gervais at (218) 663-7315 or (218) 370-0763.
A non-refundable fee of $2 is charged at the time of filing. Township elections are held the second Tuesday of March. The 2015 election will be March 11.
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