Anderson Says Experience Will Help Him Serve on City Council

(KNSI) – A future member of the St. Cloud city council is no stranger to local government.

Jake Anderson served 11 years on the St. Cloud Planning Commission and ten years on the Park and Recreation Advisory Board before unseating incumbent Councilman Paul Brandmire in Ward 3 on Tuesday. Anderson says that experience helped prepare him for office. “It gives you a better sense of how everything operates. It gives you that insight into how decisions are made. When you’re actually on a board, you get to see how the machine called government works. It’s not always the prettiest thing and you know it’s not always the most positive experience but at least you’re tied into reality.”

Anderson says he was on the edge until all the ballots were counted. “First of all, it’s one of those things, there’s no pulling data. You go by the sense you get on the ground and I’m running against an incumbent and I know the effort that I’m putting in but, at the end of the day, it’s up to the voters.”

Anderson says he will focus on improving public safety and infrastructure and enhancing the quality of life in the city.

Anderson got 55% of the vote compared to Brandmire’s 44%.

___