St. Cloud City Council is bound for change

ST. CLOUD – First there were 16 candidates, the most in 50 years to enter the City Council primary. Now, six remain for the general election on Nov. 5. And when the music finally stops, chairs will remain for at least three — and possibly four — new faces on the seven-member body, including a chance for representation by someone of East African descent for the first time.

The council has long been older, whiter and more male than the city's demographics. Almost one-third of approximately 70,000 residents now are people of color, and enrollment in the St. Cloud school district reflects even greater diversity thanks to the influx of large numbers of Somali immigrants in the past 20 years.

Representation is almost certain to shift. Jeff Goerger, who has served on the council for 18 of the past 22 years and is its current president, announced last spring he would not run for re-election — a few weeks after Mayor Dave Kleis came to the same conclusion following 20 years in his role, the longest in city history. The retirements opened a flood of interest in both positions.

Midterm Council Members Jake Anderson and Mike Conway are battling it out in the mayor's race and Council Member Carol Lewis, whose term is up, unsuccessfully ran for mayor, leaving three seats up for grabs. Additionally, George Hontos, who has been on the council for 23 years, is up for re-election. Only Dave Masters (Ward 1) and Karen Larson (Ward 2) are guaranteed to remain in their seats.

The Minnesota Star Tribune interviewed each of the candidates in person with several weeks remaining in the race. Here is a summary of what they had to say and their responses when asked what they want people to know about them, why they have an important voice, their assessment of recent city government and their goals if elected.

Scott Brodeen

Age: 43

Education: Bachelor's degree in finance and accounting from Bethel College in 2002.

Occupation: Operations manager for CL Wealth Management in Big Lake.

Family: Wife Sara and daughter Makena.

Experience: Has served his local church and as a coach for the Special Olympics.

Notable quote: "Protecting your wallet means putting a tight rein on the city's checkbook because the bottom line is that's your money. I'll steward it wisely, because it's not an endless supply."

This is Scott Brodeen's first attempt at public office and the 10-year St. Cloud resident has been preparing by regularly attending council meetings for about six months. It's time for "fresh faces, new ideas and youth," he says. He also vows to be a voice for all citizens, making an appearance recently at a local mosque, and says he has "quite a bit of support" among Muslim, East African and Somali residents.

"A lot of time people don't come out and talk to them, but their values are very conservative," Brodeen said. "I don't mean that in terms of Democrats and Republicans because the City Council is nonpartisan. But they've said they want to support somebody who they agree with in general because when decisions come up two or three years down the road they want to have an idea with how you will vote."

Public safety, jobs and business, and wise fiscal stewardship would be his top three priorities. He supports construction of a new fire station and is a strong backer of law enforcement and first responders, but he's glad the $43.5 million decision will be by a vote of the electorate because he wouldn't want to be responsible for raising taxes if the people didn't support the choice.

He says positions within his church and the volunteering he has done for the Special Olympics have prepared him for leadership, and he wants to bring "godly wisdom, logic and common sense" to the council. He knows some see him as a conservative voice.

"I don't think it takes too much digging for somebody to see where I stand on things, and I of course bring my values with me," Brodeen said. "If something is good, I'll vote yes. If something's bad, I'll vote no. I'm not worried about some party ringing me out because I didn't follow party lines. ... I'm focusing on how we can make St. Cloud better."

Tami Calhoun

Age: 66

Education: Bachelor's degrees in music and minor in business administration from Minnesota State University, Moorhead, and a master's degree in middle school education from St. Cloud State University.

Occupation: Teacher in St. Cloud schools for 34 years; owner of Physicians Revenue Services MN.

Family: Husband and four adult children.

Experience: Volunteered with ISAIAH for 23 years, board member of St. Cloud Education Rights Advocacy Council; elder at a local church; coached youth sports; helped negotiate the St. Cloud Community Policing Agreement.

Notable quote: "I love hearing people's stories. And when I hear one, try to problem solve. I ask myself, 'How can I fix that (issue)? What can the city do? Who can I connect them with?' That's a passion for me."

Tami Calhoun has knocked on about 6,500 doors so far and has a goal of canvassing her three remaining precincts before Election Day. Door-knocking and listening to the concerns of residents is something she's done for a long time, she said.

Calhoun has twice run for the Minnesota Legislature (House District 14A), capturing 45.8% of the vote in 2020 and 49.3% in 2022. The experience gives her a broader view of the issues, she said.

"I've built good relationships with the Latino community," she said. "I've had good relationships with the Black community through ISAIAH since the early 2000s. And I've built a good relationship with the Muslim coalition. That's the kind of depth I bring with me to the City Council."

If elected, she would like to help set up teen centers throughout the city, making sure kids can reach neighborhood amenities when they don't have their driver's licenses. She would also like to see increased transparency on the council and says housing and revitalizing downtown are among her primary goals.

"Housing is a complex issue that has many moving parts and is going to take many organizations to address and get it fixed," she said. "I think there's quite a few things on zoning we can do. As for downtown, we need to make St. Cloud a destination city. What can we pair with the [Great River] Children's Museum — which is going to be fantastic — to bring people downtown?"

George Hontos

Age: 73

Education: Undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University, master's degree from University of Minnesota.

Occupation: Retired; former owner of Hemsing's Delicatessen and employee of Quiet Oaks Hospice House.

Family: Wife Patricia and sons Alex and Chris.

Experience: St. Cloud City Council for more than two decades. Has also served on several nonprofit boards including the YMCA, St. John's Boys Choir and St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce, as well as a task force regarding the convention center, the city's zoning board, and founded a committee on sustainability.

Notable quote: "I don't bring any national or state politics into our city government. My only agenda is making the decisions that are best for our residents and our taxpayers."

Retired since 2012, George Hontos has lived in the city for 44 years and been a fixture on the council since 2001. That's perhaps because he considers himself someone who isn't afraid to be a contrarian or to explore what might be unpopular opinions. Among his past accomplishments, he's proud of having helped develop the St. Cloud Skate Park and playing a role in reorganizing the city's Housing and Redevelopment Authority.

Hontos knows he has "a reputation for saying some things that might be different from everybody else." But there are three things he wants voters to know about him: 1. "I'm very proud of my constituent services." He returns phone calls and takes time with people. 2. He has a strong work ethic, coming prepared to each council meeting. "I do research, ask staff questions and reach out to different resources to know the impact of our decisions." 3. He's not partisan. The Republican Party once asked him to run for the Legislature, and he's been endorsed by the DFL, he said. "I think that says something and I pride myself on being an issues person."

Public safety, infrastructure and finance are among the areas Hontos wants to have the most impact. He said the fees placed on developers for new housing projects recently have been "top-heavy" and thinks there needs to be better balance between the city's need to have infrastructure in place and getting momentum to address the housing shortage.

"I want St. Cloud to be successful, a clean, safe place with a vibrant downtown," he said. "I want young people to want to live here. We need to provide the amenities that will make them want to stay here."

Hudda Ibrahim

Age: 39

Education: Bachelor's degrees from College of St. Benedict; master's degree in conflict resolution from the University of Notre Dame; working on doctorate in higher education leadership from St. Mary's University.

Occupation: Small-business owner, author and nonprofit director.

Family: Married.

Experience: Has served on boards for the St. Cloud Area Chamber of Commerce, the mayor's downtown St. Cloud task force, the Central Minnesota Community Foundation and Anna Marie's Alliance.

Notable quote: "I'm very determined. I'm a great listener. I'm a consensus builder and like to bring people together. I make decisions based on data."

An area resident for 19 years, Hudda Ibrahim has never run for office before; she finished second in the primary. If she wins, she would become the first East African immigrant and first Muslim woman elected in St. Cloud. However, she resists being labeled as such.

"I'm very up-front and honest about not wanting to associate myself with any group," Ibrahim said. "Representation does matter, and I believe the 30.3% of the people in St. Cloud who are people of color should be represented in local government, and we're not. I would like to be the first Black, Muslim woman elected to the council, but I want people to elect me because of my competence, commitment, leadership and educational background; not my ethnic background."

Ibrahim is an author who penned a book detailing how central Minnesota became home to many Somali refugees as well as several children's books. In 2017, she started hosting bimonthly "Dine & Dialogue" events with her husband to try and counter misunderstandings about refugees and immigrants in the community. She runs a consulting company that provides diversity training to local businesses, and she recently started a nonprofit, OneCommunity Alliance, aimed at helping central Minnesotans achieve homeownership.

She says those experiences have prepared her to serve residents of the city.

Her priorities are public safety, housing and small-business development and support.

"We know we have a housing shortage in central Minnesota," she said. "That's the biggest issue I want to work on. We cannot attract more workers because there's not an appropriate housing stack. We need to incentivize developers to build attainable housing."

Mark Johnson

Age: 65

Education background: Attended a business program in St. Cloud and completed courses to be ordained for pastoral ministry.

Occupation: Pastor at Jubilee Worship Center in St. Cloud.

Family: Wife Becky, three children and 10 grandchildren.

Experience: Has served as leader of National Day of Prayer and volunteered at community functions.

Notable quote: "I want to do what I've done all my career: help people work through their problems. I want to help people be productive, law-abiding citizens with a moral compass."

Mark Johnson and his wife have lived in the community since 1993, and they opened Jubilee Worship Center in 1998. This is his first attempt at public office. He says he is a common-sense candidate with a "servant approach" to leadership.

"For 40-plus years I've been doing that on the church side, but we've always engaged people in our community," he said. "Our church is very culturally diverse and I think it's a microcosm of the city, so I'm used to working with a lot of people from different minority groups."

He says he wants to help unify a city that he also calls "politically diverse."

"I'm not running as a Democrat or Republican," Johnson said. "You're trying to represent a majority, as you do in a church."

He believes he and others in the race have been unfairly characterized by affiliated parties but said voters both conservative and liberal can agree on primary issues: public safety, strong employment and economy, quality schools and smooth roads and streets.

"How you get there or pay for it, there may be differences there," Johnson said. "But the goals are the same."

He said it's time more people get involved in local government, one reason he's running.

"When I talk to people, some feel like they don't know what's going on, that there's no transparency or they don't have any say," Johnson said. "That's not necessarily true. The information is all on the city website and anyone can come to the meetings. Then there are going to be other people who say, 'We elect you to do this work and we don't want to be bothered about it.' Whichever you are, I want you to feel like your voice matters."

Omar Abdullahi Podi

Age: 44

Education background: Completed courses in government and political science at St. Cloud State University.

Occupation: Executive director of IHAMN, which provides tax travel and immigration services, and runs a wireless electronic shop in St. Cloud.

Experience: Ran unsuccessfully for St. Cloud school board in 2020, served as president of the Waite Park Somali Community Association.

Notable quote: "America is one of the greatest economic powers in the world, yet our community is suffering. We need to make sure that our voice is heard."

A native of Mogadishu, Somalia, Podi has lived in St. Cloud for more than 10 years, all in the same apartment. He came to the U.S. through a refugee camp in Kenya.

"I love the city," Podi said. Many from the Somali and East African community encouraged him to run to better represent the community, he said, noting that he has worked to build bridges between the diverse residents of the area.

In the past decade, he's helped more than 4,000 people become U.S. citizens, and has spent time meeting with longtime residents to "convince them the Somali community is not a threat for terrorism or bad people."

"Sometimes we get together and have lunch or tea and have good conversation," he said.

Podi said his father was influential in the Somali navy and his grandfather was a freedom fighter who helped his country gain independence and later became speaker of the Parliament in Somalia in 1958. Their family retains political ties with their homeland. In St. Cloud, Podi also works with the local DFL office.

He says he's helped more than 650 East Africans get their commercial driver's license. "They bring tax dollars to St. Cloud. We invest in this city."

But, he claims, no East Africans have served on the City Council and few have worked for the city. "We need help. We need representation. We need connections. That's why we need to run, not only for City Council but also county commissioner and school board."

His top three priorities include housing and economic development, beautifying downtown and developing the youth of tomorrow.