ATWATER -- Bruce Baker was re-elected as mayor of Atwater Tuesday. He received 273 votes, to challenger Jerry Spencer's 246 votes, according to unofficial results reported on the Kandiyohi County Web site. He will serve a two-year term.
Baker, 56, has served two years as mayor and seven years as a council member in Atwater. He is the owner of Atwater Equipment, Inc. Spencer, 45, served eight years on the city council and is general manager of the Willmar VFW Post 1639.
Incumbent Dale Tagtow and challenger Mark Olson were elected from a field of seven candidates to the city council Tuesday. Tagtow received 264 votes and Olson received 223 votes. Tagtow is a salesman for Atwater Ford and Olson is manager for Midwest Locomotive Services.
The other city council candidates and their vote totals included: Brad Fluck, 196 votes; Gary Tagtow, 97 votes; Deb Kloss, 87 votes; Amy Schmidt, 84 votes; and H. James Olson, 74 votes.
In the race for mayor, Baker said in a questionaire published earlier by the West Central Tribune that voters should choose him because "I can get things accomplished." He also said that, since he works in Atwater, he is "available to talk nearly every day if a citizen has a need."
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Baker is a native of Atwater and plans to "work toward continuous improvements to make it an even better place to work, live and raise a family."
Working to make sure the citizens of Atwater receive the "utmost for their tax dollars" is a goal of Baker's.
