Silver Bay Candidate Forum

With election sea­son quickly approach­ing, we want to give readers a chance to hear from folks who are running for local office. Attempts were made to contact each of the candidates run­ning for Silver Bay Mayor and for City Council. Respons­es were not received from Alex Burcum and Brooks Midbrod. All candidates were asked to respond to the fol­lowing five questions. Responses are printed as submitted by the re­spondents.

• Please tell us what motivated you to run for office?
• If you are elected, what are your goals for the office you are seeking?
• What are the most pressing issues that Silver Bay residents are facing?
• Non-partisan effort on the part of elected officials is important for good governance. What is your track record, working with people who do not share your perspective? How will you build consensus among other elected officials and among all your constituents?
• Anything else you want voters to know?

MAYORAL CANDIDATES:

Dean Floen

I am motivated to run for Mayor by the people around me say­ing they are not being heard. I also share their concern about our small town being sold out to tourism. We have a great lit­tle town and once it’s been commercialized there is no going back.

My goals will be to bring transparency to the residents and to al­low them to have the final say about what projects/improve­ments move forward.

I believe there are many issues, some big and some small. All are important, but I feel the most pressing one has to do with the citizens losing control over their ability to decide for themselves what is or will happen to the place they have chosen to call home.

I believe that you will never get every­one on board with every problem. A good governing body should not be made of like-minded people. Different perspectives and differing opin­ions are what make it work. You need checks and balances in place to keep everyone on track otherwise things can get, well, like they are now.

This Mayor ‘Thing” is very new to me. I do not like the direction things are going so I am going to do my best to help get things back on track for the people that want a say in what is going on. Thanks again to all who are supporting me.

Wade LeBlanc:

I enjoy helping peo­ple. I have been part of this community my whole life, and have volunteered for nu­merous boards and organizations. Giving back to our communi­ty and region is how my family was raised. It has been an honor and privilege to have served the people of Silver Bay the past 4 years. I have learned a lot, and wish to con­tinue serving. Along with our current coun­cil, I believe we are following our Com­prehensive Plan and continue moving the city forward in these trying times since the pandemic.

Following through on the projects that we currently have funding for, including Streets, Water facili­ty upgrades, Library remodel, and Trail­head center. Continue working on funding for a new apartment complex (Silverpointe II with Lake County HRA), Streets, other housing projects, and attracting new ser­vices/businesses. Keep moving forward trying to increase our tax base to help keep our levy impact to our res­idents reasonable. If we do nothing, the re­sults will only increase our taxes or eliminate/ cut services.

Aging infrastruc­ture, Housing, Streets, Workforce, and costs related to inflation. We as a community need to continue work­ing with our schools to keep them vibrant and healthy, as the school is the heart and soul of our community. I have stated before and truly believe, the most important building in our city is our school. The future of our com­munity depends on our youth being educated/ trained, provided good paying jobs, and being able to stay in Silver Bay if they wish to.

I have encouraged people to come to meetings, learn gov­erning processes, get involved and started “Meet the Mayor”. In order to make prog­ress, we all need to work together to ac­complish the goals set out in the city compre­hensive plan as it is the basis of decision-mak­ing which many con­stituents of Silver Bay participated in and helped create.

In order to be an ef­fective elected official, you must be willing to make sacrifices in your time. Not only attending City Coun­cil and commission meetings, but attend­ing other local and regional meetings as well. Creating rela­tionships with federal, state and other local legislators is very im­portant to help the city of Silver Bay move forward. Over the last four years, I have made several trips to St. Paul to make con­tacts with not only our local representatives, but others that sit on committees that we are working with. Since becoming mayor, we have brought in over $10,000,000 in fed­eral and state aid for our community. These projects would not have happened with­out legislative support.

I have lived with­in the city limits of Silver Bay my whole married, adult life, and within 4 miles of Sil­ver Bay growing up. It is true that my family has owned small busi­nesses in this commu­nity since 1955. I feel that those experiences make me a better elect­ed official. It is these types of experiences, as well as coaching, serving on differ­ent boards and com­missions that make us who we are and guide us through de­cision-making in good times and rough times. Even though my op­ponents may disagree on some city decisions being made, I think they would agree that I deeply care about this community and want to see it thrive in the future. I grew up here, attended schools here, raised my family here, watched them attend schools here and now our three sons and their families are in this area. My wife and I feel extremely fortu­nate to have our chil­dren and their families be able to work, live and raise their children here.

Logan Fischer

I decided to run be­cause I wanted the res­idents of Silver Bay to have options for may­or. The last election had only 1 candidate on the ballot and that didn’t sit well with me. If there are no options to choose from no one knows how the current administration is do­ing in the eyes of their citizens. My business background and cre­ative ways I have been able to start and run the businesses I own, will help me serve the community due to the different viewpoint I have on moving for­ward while controlling costs.

My goals are to find a balance between main­taining what we have, while also moving for­ward with developing and creating a better community. We need to keep the cost of living reasonable and avoid unneeded costs that residents will be expected to pay. I am for improving and building a better com­munity, but this needs to be done in a way that doesn’t overbur­den the residents with unexpected bills. We have to remember the government, wheth­er at the City, County, State, or Federal lev­el has no money, the residents provide the funds in the form of taxes. It seems a lot of officials don’t take this into consideration when they make deci­sions. Overall Silver Bay has done better than most, however in the last four years with the amount property taxes have gone up, I have started to wonder if there are better ways to accomplish these things.

The most pressing issue I have seen is how to maintain the lifestyle longtime res­idents have come to enjoy, while also re­taining the younger generation so our town is able to continue to grow economical­ly. The million dollar question is how to do this without raising the cost of living too high? One of my major con­cerns is the balance be­tween improving what we have, and main­taining a reasonable cost of living. The last four years have had a significant increase in costs as we all have seen. Not all of it has been unreasonable, however some of the items being proposed have stirred concerns that we will see un­expected costs passed on in the future. This could be problemat­ic for the residents of Silver Bay, especially those on a fixed in­come. For those of us not on a fixed income, how much of our future income do we want to go toward paying for these changes? Every­thing comes at a cost, sometimes it is worth it, and sometimes it is not. We need to be careful that the items we put in motion to­day are necessary, and not just “nice to have”, so residents who are on fixed incomes, or starting their careers, are able to afford them when the bill comes due. We need a com­munity where the old­er generation is not priced out, while also having a town that at­tracts younger fami­lies. The balance is an interesting problem.

Non-partisan effort on the part of elect­ed officials is import­ant for good gover­nance. What is your track record, working with people who do not share your per­spective? How will you build consensus among other elected officials and among all your constituents? I have worked with people most of my working career who have not had my per­spective. I like to hear other perspectives and weigh the opinions against my own to help make more informed decisions. I prefer to not make enemies, but to instead see if we can work on common ground to achieve the overall goals we are working toward. To me working in this way helps make a bet­ter plan and outcome.

I am a longtime Sil­ver Bay resident. My family has been in the area for 29 years, my wife was born and raised here. We have multiple businesses and want to contin­ue to raise our family in this community; where we don’t have to worry about crime, and the cost of living is reasonable. Having worked with people in other cities, I have come to appreciate what we have. It is a major reason we have stayed, even when my work for a time took me to Superior and Eveleth. The drive was worth it knowing we lived in a safe com­munity and were able to make steps to better our lives. I am hoping to use the knowledge and skills I have ob­tained working, and running multiple busi­nesses, to keep Silver Bay moving forward in a sustainable way while keeping costs as affordable as possible.

CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES:

Erica Jensen

Hello Silver Bay area residents, my name is Erica Jensen and I am running for Silver Bay City Council. While I have only lived in Sil­ver Bay for the past year, I am not new to the area. My grandpar­ents were a part of the OG crew who worked at Reserve Mining ear­ly on, and they raised their families here. My parents, J. Paul Jensen and Wendy (Church) Jensen grew up in Silver Bay, and both graduated from William Kelley High School in the late 60’s. I lived in town a cou­ple of times in my younger years to help both sets of grandpar­ents when they needed it. However, I’m hap­py to share that I am officially a homeown­er and so very thank­ful I can now make Silver Bay a place to call home for years to come.

I lived in the sub­urbs of Minneapolis so I am no stranger to MN winter, but decid­ed (during the 2014 Polar Vortex) that es­caping the cold for a while sounded like a good idea, and moved to Tampa, Florida in 2017. As a Tampa res­ident, I participated in a program called May­or’s Neighborhood University which was a 10 week program for civic leaders who wanted to learn more about how cities were managed across every facet of city operations including city budget management, explor­ing the inner workings of the Police and Fire Departments, touring the wastewater treat­ment plant, learning all about urban hous­ing redevelopment, the importance of a well thought out econom­ic development plan, and so much more. The purpose of this program was to not only orient people to city management, but to train the next gen­eration of civic leaders in how to bring about positive growth in a thoughtful and well planned manner.

Additionally, after I completed the May­or’s program I was in­vited to participate in a Citizen’s Academy with the Tampa Po­lice Department which included listening to recorded 911 dispatch calls, “role playing” as a member of law en­forcement in a traffic 

 stop that went awry, and so on. Both pro­grams left a lasting im­pact on me and I knew I was destined to be of service to my larger community in a mean­ingful way, which is what led me to want to run for Silver Bay City Council this fall. Now that I’m settled into the community and have begun to attend City Council meetings as well as talk with the community at large, I see an opportunity to leverage my strengths to help citizens’ voices be heard, and to sup­port the city in creat­ing a sustainable plan for the future.

My goals are to fos­ter stronger commu­nity connections and serve as a dedicated advocate for all res­idents. The strength of this city lies in our ability to come togeth­er, and I believe it’s time to prioritize col­laboration and create a shared vision for prog­ress.

Here are some of the areas that several con­cerned citizens of the Silver Bay Area have shared are important to them. While this is not an exhaustive list, these are a few of the top priorities that have continued to come up over the past several months as I’ve start­ed to get involved in the community, and during City Council meetings.

Blight – Revitalizing Our Neighborhoods: It’s time to bring new life to our commu­nity neighborhoods. As your city council member, I will prior­itize reducing blight, and ensuring our city reflects the pride we have in it. While I ap­preciate not everyone in the community cur­rently agrees on the definition of blight, coming to consensus on that will take time. In the meantime, the next best step is to take action, and to sup­port the community. I want to help ensure that those who are in need and want to get help with excess trash and waste in their yard are supported. I am doing this by work­ing with Lake County along with others, to organize a community clean-up day for Silver Bay and the surround­ing area. Look for more information as plans materialize for spring, 2025.

Fostering Econom­ic Development: Our community deserves a thriving economy, and a bright future. I am committed to sup­porting community development that is well thought out, sus­tainable and has mini­mal tax impact to cit­izens. My intention is to hold subcommittees to a minimum level of planning and analysis to determine financial viability of develop­ment proposals and advocate for policies that encourage sustain­able development and innovation, not special interest. City growth should be inclusive and sustainable. Fu­ture planning is not about short term fixes; it’s about laying the foundation for long-term success where everyone in our com­munity benefits from the progress we make together.

Putting Citizens First: I believe in a city government that listens to and works for its people. I will be a strong, responsive voice on the coun­cil, ensuring that your concerns are heard and addressed. I’ll ad­vocate for the city to develop a transparent and accessible com­munication channel between the council and residents regard­ing ongoing projects, and providing updat­ed status reports, and encouraging input from the community. Through increasing communication and this feedback process, my goal is to ensure that the city council’s decisions reflect the needs and desires of the community.

Throughout my pro­fessional career, and community involve­ment, I’ve consistently demonstrated an abil­ity to work collabora­tively with individu­als who hold different perspectives. I believe that diversity of view­points lead to stronger, more inclusive deci­sions, and I always approach discussions with a mindset of mu­tual respect and active listening. As a candi­date for City Coun­cil, I am committed to building consensus among elected offi­cials by fostering open communication, trans­parency and a focus on shared goals. I under­stand the importance of finding common ground, even when disagreements arise, and I believe in cre­ating an environment of trust and collabo­ration. My leadership approach prioritizes respect for all voices and a willingness to compromise to move forward on initiatives that benefit the entire community.

With the citizens of Silver Bay, my focus will be on engaging with everyone – wheth­er they agree with my views or not. I plan to attend community meetings, and main­tain an open line of communication to en­sure all residents feel heard and represented. I firmly believe that leadership requires both advocating for what I believe is right and being responsive to the diverse concerns and ideas of the com­munity.

Ultimately, my goal as a council member will be to make deci­sions that reflect the best interest of our city as a whole by embrac­ing collaboration, lis­tening and thoughtful compromise.

I graduated from Elk River High School, received my Bache­lor of Arts degree in Communication Stud­ies from Winona State University and Mas­ter of Arts in Organi­zational Leadership, which emphasized eth­ics in business, from St. Catherine University in St. Paul, MN. I also hold a project man­agement professional certification from the Project Management Institute and am a Certified Professional Coach. I’ve worked in technology the entire­ty of my professional career, and for the past several years, as a pro­gram manager leading multi-million dollar, digital transformation initiatives for some of the largest financial in­stitutions in the United States (think rolling out software at banks).

As a leader, the suc­cess of my career has been built on my abil­ity to get large groups of people to align on shared goals and work together to achieve those goals. This ex­perience has given me a unique understand­ing of how to navigate complex issues, find common ground and drive results. Now, I want to bring that same dedication and strate­gic thinking to our city council. Our commu­nity faces challenges that require more than just ideas; they de­mand proper planning, action and collabora­tion. My professional background has pre­pared me to manage resources effectively, foster innovation, and build partnerships that create real, sustainable change.

I view the role of City Council as one of ser­vice to the community. It’s not about pushing a personal agenda, but about representing the needs and concerns of the citizens. My com­mitment is to serve with integrity, trans­parency and a genu­ine desire to see Silver Bay flourish. By elect­ing me, you’re choos­ing someone who will work tirelessly to en­sure your concerns are heard, and that to­gether, we co-create a community where ev­eryone thrives.

You can find my campaign page, Er­ica Jensen for City Council, on Facebook which is where I plan to publish relevant content between now and election day.

Ben Bautch

I have been in of­fice for four years so far. I have seen a lot from being in office and learned a lot. I like giving back to the community and want to keep going as long as I can and to help as much as I can.

There has been a ton of changes going on in our community. I would like to see what all goes through and what other changes can be made to make our town a great place to live. I personally have lived here for 38 years and don’t plan on going anywhere any time soon.

The biggest thing is all the changes hap­pening around us. It’s always best to see both sides of the sto­ry. Changes can be bad but change can be good. It all determines which way you wanna look at it.

The main thing is to keep everyone hap­py. When people get mad it’s not good. Ev­eryone has their own decision on how they feel about each other. The main thing is to keep positive thoughts and focus on the com­munity.

I have lived here for 38 years and am happi­ly married to my wife Jena. I have two kids, a daughter and a son who I would love to keep this town going. My focus is the peo­ple and if anyone sees me about, I am more than willing to talk. Positive thoughts go a long way. Let’s keep this town together for years to come. Thanks

James FitzGerald

I ran for City Coun­cil four years ago and lost. After my loss, I decided to get more involved in city gov­ernment. I applied and was appointed to the Public Works, Public Utilities, and Liquor Board. After serv­ing the last 3 1/2 to 4 years on these boards and commissions and learning a great deal about how our city operates, I decided to take the next step and run again for City Council.

After years of de­ferring road and in­frastructure improve­ments and after a citywide survey was taken, the number one issue was road infra­structure improve­ment. Working on the two commissions that are involved in these improvements I want to see implementa­tion and completion of these projects. I also want to see Silver Bay continue to grow (but not too much or too quickly) and prosper and keep Silver Bay a safe and affordable place to live.

I see three issues that are of concern. Growth, taxes, and in­frastructure improve­ments. I believe they are all tied to each other. If Silver Bay grows moderately, that should help taxes. Don’t get me wrong, taxes are going to in­crease no matter what we do. But if we grow moderately, hopeful­ly the tax pain won’t be too harsh. The in­frastructure improve­ments are imperative. The underground in­frastructure is falling apart. You can only put so many Band-Aids on them. It’s time to stop kicking the can down the road. It’s not going to get any less expen­sive.

I worked for major manufacturing com­panies in the cities and Duluth while living in Silver Bay. Being a department head, we always had meetings with all of the other departments to try and hammer out agendas to meet common goals for the better of the company. We all were always willing and able to take everyone’s cares, concerns and needs into consider­ation and compromise to achieve satisfactory results. I never had a disagreement or dis­pute that was not rec­tified or resolved with all parties satisfied.

I want the voters to know that I believe in openness, fairness, and am willing to listen to every side of an issue. I also understand that we are not all always going to agree on ev­erything. We have to have some give and take on issues. I want Silver Bay to continue to be a safe and afford­able place that your children and (maybe) grandchildren want to live in.