Hartland City Council
By CARRIE GILBERTSON
Contributing Writer
Democracy: government that is for, by and of the people. For the people means that the government’s purpose is to benefit the common citizen; by the people, that our government is given its power by the election of our population; of the people that regular citizens run for and are elected to office. But what happens when they don’t run? This is precisely the situation that the City of Hartland found itself in this past November. Not just once, but three times.
Three seats on the city council were up for election in 2012: the mayoral seat, and two councilperson positions. These positions were previously held by Kelly Routh, Kyle Reed and Linda Pederson, respectively. All three decided prior to the elections that due to each of their personal situations, they would give other townspeople an opportunity to contribute to the city government, giving up their positions on the council.
As in most small towns, love for this city runs deep.
Routh began his service to the city in 1980 when he joined the fire department. He was on the council for 10 years before being elected mayor.“I’ve tried to resign twice, but the council shredded my resignation and convinced me to stay,” said Routh.
Reed served Hartland in various capacities for more than 10 years. He has been a councilperson, mayor and also served in a variety of positions when there were vacancies in the city government.
Pederson has served one previous term on the city council.
This past November, when all three seats were open, Hartland residents arrived at the polls and found nobody on the ballot. So they did what all responsible citizens would do: write in their fellow townspeople who would serve their beloved city well. This is how, once again, Routh was elected mayor and Reed and Pederson to the council.
Because there was nobody officially running, there was no legal obligation for any of the elected parties to fulfill the positions. It wasn’t until late December when decisions were made and positions were filled. According to the office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, there is no statutory requirement or timeframe for write-in candidates to decide when and if they will accept a board position. In the event that one of the positions had not been accepted by the board meeting held on the first Monday in January, the city would have had to hold a special election to fill it.
Luckily for Hartland, devotion is not lacking among its residents. According to Nicole LaFrance, Hartland City Clerk and Treasurer, family and friends played a large part in the final decisions of these three public servants to continue their positions.
“I think it feels good to have the confidence of the community behind them,” said LaFrance, in reference to why these three ultimately decided to take on another term.
There were also outstanding projects in the community they were encouraged to see through, including the current water treatment facility construction. In the fall of 2011 the current facility began to fail, prompting an assessment of what could be done to salvage it or replace it. Construction on a new building was started in November 2012 and is expected to be finished late summer or early fall of 2013.
Whatever the reasons, their city is grateful for the continued dedication of these three residents.
It begs the question: what will happen next election?