St. Cloud Mayoral Candidates Talk About Race’s Biggest Issues

(KNSI) – Downtown, housing, and jobs have become the main themes in this year’s St. Cloud mayoral campaign.

All six candidates recently sat down with outgoing mayor Dave Kleis for an interview to introduce themselves to voters. Businessman Steven Shiller is focusing on economic opportunity. He wants to prioritize a manufacturing site on the city’s west side.

“We lost Electrolux a number of years ago. And we haven’t really recovered from that. One of the things that I have talked about with other community members is that you know, what can we do with the old Electrolux building? What type of education can we develop to bring an industry in and retrain some people to have an opportunity to have higher paying jobs?”

Shiller says St. Cloud is a hardworking community and would be a great fit for a wide range of potential employers. He is not the only entrepreneur to speak highly of the city.

Collins Brothers Towing has seen rapid expansion over its lifetime. Owner James Trantina has watched his company expand to around 400 vehicles today and he told Mayor Kleis it could have only happened here. He says the people inspired him to run.

“[We] started the business here with one truck. It’s been very welcoming. A lot of business owners have been welcoming, the general public has been welcoming. People are really friendly, honestly.”

Trantina has never run for public office before.

Downtown revitalization is another common theme among the candidates. Anne Buckvold moved to the city in 2021 after serving as a council member in nearby St. Joseph. She wants to convert parking lots into retail stores and other commercial buildings to create an outdoor walking mall but recognizes that St. Cloud needs to add infrastructure to make that happen.

“I would look at downtown, I would look at downtown infrastructure. I mean, I know we need to replace water/sewer, but I would want to do that because there’s a lot of exciting things happening in the community with the business community, east and west sides. And they all want to see a real revitalization. If we’re going to do that, we want to do it with the right stuff underground.”

Downtown revitalization is one of four “pillars” of Buckvold’s campaign.

The grit of infrastructure is one aspect of rebuilding the historic district. Council member Carol Lewis, also running for mayor, says it’s okay to dream. She talked about swinging for the fences when it comes to revitalization.

“I have a dream of bringing the Rox stadium downtown. Now, this is just a dream; it’s nothing that’s been thought out. It would be a catalyst for a lot of positive development for downtown. More restaurants will be developing. People may want to live close so they can walk to the game.”

Lewis talks about a facility that could be used by St. Cloud State University’s varsity baseball team in the spring to add more events for the potential arena. Both teams currently play at the Municipal Athletic Complex in northwest St. Cloud.

Zoning changes will be a top priority if Mayor for councilman Jake Anderson is elected. He says regulations are often based on conditions that existed decades ago, which might not fit current needs.

“Zoning is often established based on things that have occurred in the past. So, whether it’s folks putting up structures too close to property lines or not matching structures, I think that that’s why those are established. And obviously, things were established in the past when lot sizes were a lot bigger.”

A recent study estimates that St. Cloud will need 17,000 more homes by 2040, given current growth trends. Councilman Mike Conway believes zoning changes will play a key role in eliminating the local housing shortage. He wants to create an environment that rewards builders putting up workforce housing.

“I would like us to look at zoning as an incentivizing tool. Right now, we’re really kind of looking for those middle income, workforce housing. So, I’d like to see us use the zoning to kind of incentivize some of that home building.”

Business groups say available housing and downtown revitalization success are two of the biggest issues they face as they try to attract new hires and retain current employees.

A link to watch all six candidates talk with Mayor Kleis is here.

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