St. Cloud mayor-elect Jake Anderson exits council before January installation

ST. CLOUD – After the election earlier this month, three new people are poised to join St. Cloud City Council come January. And after Monday’s resignation of Mayor-elect Jake Anderson from his Ward 3 seat on the City Council, there will likely be another newcomer to join the ranks.

Anderson, 45, is midway through his first term on the City Council. He earned about 51.6% of the vote on Nov. 5 to edge out fellow Council Member Mike Conway, who was also vying to step into the role being vacated by longtime Mayor Dave Kleis.

The City Council on Monday approved a process for filling the vacant seat on the seven-member board. Applicants must live in Ward 3, which includes the northwest part of the city. They will be asked to submit a questionnaire and the city’s standard nominating petition with at least 25 signatures.

Applications will be accepted until noon Nov. 25; the City Council will hold a special meeting that night to discuss the applicants and will likely interview candidates in early December.

According to the city’s charter, if the City Council does not appoint a replacement within 30 days, the mayor mill make the appointment.

This year’s City Council race drew 16 candidates — the most in 50 years — who were whittled to six candidates in August’s primary. Longtime Council Member George Hontos was the only candidate running for re-election, but he fell short in the general election.

Jeff Goerger, who has served on the council for nearly two decades and is its current president, announced in the spring he would not run again. And Council Member Carol Lewis, whose term is up this year, unsuccessfully ran for mayor, leaving the three at-large posts up for grabs.

The three candidates elected were Tami Calhoun, Mark Johnson and Scott Brodeen. They will be sworn in on Jan. 13, joining Dave Masters (Ward 1), Karen Larson (Ward 2) and Conway (Ward 4).