By Jean Doran Matua, Editor
At the Sept. 13 regular council meeting in Watkins, Robert Wright challenged the city regarding his candidacy for mayor. Wright had filed Aug. 14 to be placed on the ballot for mayor. He completed and signed the standard Affidavit of Candidacy used for all elected offices in Minnesota. This Affidavit was rejected “for failing to meet statutory requirements.” Specifically, Wright had also filed for State Representative for District 18A (Dean Urdahl’s seat). Signing the Affidavit of Candidacy swears that “I have not filed for the same or any other office at the upcoming primary or general election …”
Wright was at the meeting to contest that rejecting. He stated that the Affidavit of Candidacy is erroneous, that the Secretary of State made a mistake, and therefore it is invalid. He claimed that he did not read it, then that he read it but signed it anyway because it was invalid.
Wright threatened to find a lawyer who would sue to have the Affidavit of Candidacy thrown out before the Nov. 6 election. When it was pointed out that the same form had been in use since 2015, Wright pointed out the can of worms that could be opened up with that. Although stating that he didn’t want to make a big stink about it, implying that the city could avoid all of that if they just voted his way, Wright clearly threatened to do just that.
“I’m running for mayor either way, now,” Wright said. “This gets my dander up.”
In another argument against the validity of the Affidavit, Wright claimed that he did not run for State Representative to win, and therefore that filing shouldn’t count.
Wright stated that he called the Secretary of State office and was told that the city of Watkins has the ultimate decision of who may run on its ballot. In essence, Wright was asking the city of Watkins to override the Minnesota Secretary of State on election law and procedure. The city declined to do so; three council members voted against, and the two who are also running for mayor abstained.
Wright later asked the council to invalidate all Affidavits of Candidacy filed with the city. The council unanimously denied that request.
[We contacted the Secretary of State’s office and, indeed, the city decides who may be on the ballot. Their media contact added, “However, state law does preclude a person from running for two offices in the same eledction.” He also affirmed that the Affidavit of Candidacy available and used by many is valid and lawfully meets all statutory requirements.]
The council approved closing one block of Central Avenue for a Halloween pub crawl from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 27. Each bar will be responsible for putting on wristbands, and no alcohol will be allowed outside that confined area – canned beer and plastic cups only. There will be a DJ in the street from 8 p.m. to midnight. It was a great success last year, and it could bring in an extra 150 people to town, said Red Goat manager Chris Lease who asked for the closure. He also requested extra law enforcement for the night, but that needs to be arranged through Meeker County.
City engineer Kent Louwagie presented a pay request for street work, but it was tabled to correct the figures for assessment.
At the recommendation of the Watkins Planning Commission, based on their written findings, the council unanimously voted to deny the zoning amendment from Northstar Behavioral Health. Councilmember Brenda Carlson added that such an operation should not be in an R1 district.
The council discussed possible contributions to the Southwest Initiative Foundation for 2019. The foundation has made several grants and loans to entities in Meeker County. The council would like to get more information on beneficiaries in the Watkins area, if any, their application process, and possibly invite someone from the IF to attend a council meeting.
The council discussed the property at 230 Central Avenue. It appears to council members that some progress has been made but that the property still does not meet the city’s requirements. The council moved unanimously to notify the property owner of a hearing with the council to issue an abatement order.
The council approved the 2019 proposed tax levy and the 2019 proposed budget.
Public Works director Steve Geislinger reported that the “brains” of the joint water plant are out, and it will cost about $16,000 to remedy that. It’s been there since the plant was put up, and is very important to operations.
Part of the city’s lighted sign on city hall is out. Clerk Deb Kramer contacted Scenic Sign to see if they may be able to do a last-ditch repair, again. The sign is at its “end of life” and is no longer repairable. The city will need to discuss its replacement.
Now that the pool season is over, the council agreed unanimously to reimburse four new lifeguards one-half of their training, mask and manual, as agreed when they were hired, for a total of just over $94 each. The other half will be reimbursed at the conclusion of the next pool season.
This meeting was recessed to be continued at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18.
The next regular meeting of the Watkins city council will be at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11.