Continuity or change? Olmsted County Board candidates make their case to voters
Med City Beat’s Town Hall series turned its attention to the Olmsted County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night, highlighting three races in which challengers are vying to spoil re-election campaigns for three incumbent board members.
(Note: Gregg Wright, incumbent in the District 3 seat, is running unopposed.)
The Board of Commissioners face major challenges in 2021, with the county’s public health department spearheading the local fight against Covid-19 and a budget crunch looming. We posed the same question in all three debates: for the incumbents, make the case for continuity over change in your district; and the reverse to the challengers. These were the candidates’ responses, broken down by district.
District 1
Stephanie Podulke (I): “I’m a small business owner to start with, so that makes me a part of the community. This community has just been extremely generous and supportive to our family, especially when we had a big fire about 20 years ago. So we want to give back to this community. The way I do it is to serve on a lot of different boards; the way [her late husband and longtime commissioner] Mike did it was to serve on the county board.
I think people trust [our family] because we show up, that’s one important thing. We’ve done a lot of work with the diversity council, with the women’s shelter, and by putting on community events — we have a lot of fun as well. I think that’s why people trust us.
Robert ‘Bucky’ Beeman: “I have been active in our community my entire life, but really active in business since 2008. Through that process, I’ve been able to help individuals achieve their goals and their dreams by getting started, from almost nothing with limited resources, working through county and city rules to get their business up and running. I’ve been able to help reactivate places that some might have thought would never be activated.
I feel like I’ve made the county a better place, and I’d like to bring that experience to politics. I believe that through my active role in the community, my continued active role as a real estate agent, helping individuals, that I’ll be able to continually help, no matter the person or background, to 1) listen and 2) go to work for them, and figure out how the county can help their position in life. That’s why I’m running — I want to make the county the best place it can be.”
District 5
Jim Bier (I): “As I’ve stated many times, I led us through the housing crisis of 2008. With these uncertain times, the pandemic, a lot of stressed mental health, homelessness, people losing jobs I feel like I’ve proven myself. In the 2008 housing crunch, we got through without laying anybody off in the county. We provided the services we needed to the people that needed them — people getting kicked out of their houses, we provided some continuity. We did all of this without unduly raising property taxes.
I think I've done a good job balancing the needs of people with the needs of the community. With these uncertain times, I feel like I’m the proper person.”
Regina Mustafa: “I thank Mr. Bier for his years of service with this seat, but I do believe that our community, our county could benefit from new leadership in this position. I actively work in the realm of behavioral health services, especially now with Covid and rising instances of mental health crisis and substance use lapses and relapses, I think it would be such a benefit and asset to have a behavioral health specialist sitting on the county board.
This isn’t necessarily new territory for me — this isn’t my first campaign — and I think the skills, networks, and relationships I’ve built over the years - I look forward to bringing them into this seat.”
District 7
Mark Thein (I): “I think I’ve done a really good job in the first four years. I’m not gonna lie, you’re kind of swimming in the first couple years because the county is so huge and does so many things. There’s 800 employees, 1100 contracted workers, an annual budget over $200 million — you’re just drinking from a fire hose of information.
After the first couple years, you kind of get your feet underneath you, and I think that’s where I am right now. I think I’m a strong voice for common sense on the board. Long-term, I’m not out to pick fights with other elected officials. I just want to get the work done and do what’s best for the citizens of Olmsted County, and I think I’d carry on that way.”
Wale Elegbede: “Yes, we’ve done some good work in Olmsted County, but there’s still a lot of work to be done. If you look at affordable housing, for example, just a few years ago, Rochester was second-worst in the whole nation. When you look at the core role that a county does, it’s more about public health services, and we need increased access to that. I’ve talked to a lot of family members who have complained — so we have opportunities there. The fact is, we have a lot of opportunities where a lot of key county services are not reaching people.
Diversity, equity, inclusion… We have work to do there. Law enforcement in minority communities… there’s work to do there. Everything is not rosy, and what I bring is a diverse perspective. I’ve worked over 20-plus years for some of the largest companies in the world and I’ve been able to successfully execute projects, so I think I offer a diverse perspective with proven experience.”
Med City Beat’s town hall series continues Thursday, October 8 with the candidates for Rochester School Board.
