Willmar citizens face a decision crossroads on Nov. 4 as they go to the polls to vote for the Willmar City Council seats. The primary questions for citizens to ask themselves are these: Do you like how this City Council has functioned in recent years? Are you dissatisfied with the conflict and infighting within the City Council? What needs to be done to improve the City Council and city government?
Simply, to paraphrase President Ronald Reagan, is our city better off than it was four years ago?
Willmar or the city’s downtown will never be what it was 25 or 50 years ago. For more than 140 years, our city has evolved and changed, just as the world around our city has done. This city needs City Council members who are involved, can evolve and can proactively focus in partnership with city residents to make Willmar a great place to live, work and play.
Ward 2: Gardner is the right choice
In Willmar’s Ward 2, voters face the choice of 20-year incumbent council person Ron Christianson or former council person Steve Gardner. Voters will decide if they like the recent years of conflict and infighting on the City Council or if this is time for a change. This will likely be a close race, as the majority of primary votes in August were for candidates other than Christianson.
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Christianson, 64, is a Willmar business owner and is seeking his sixth four-year term to a Ward 2 seat. That is a long time. He likes being in the place where decisions are being made for his ward and his city. He believes he always has “a vision how (a problem) should be fixed, whatever the issue may be.”
Unfortunately, this City Council person gets upset when others disagree with him and his bullying tendencies quickly come to the forefront. He quickly criticizes others, but becomes defensive when his actions are criticized. He tends to see conspiracies within the council, the city staff, the business community and/or citizen groups. He often speaks of “not trusting” city staff, community leaders, businesses leaders or “outside forces” within the community. He seems to be more loyal to his political ideology, rather than what is best for Willmar and all its residents. Sadly, he lacks an understanding of diversity, doesn’t value its strengths and pines for what Willmar once was. He has not even been very involved in the community-organized Vision 2040 strategic planning effort. Recently, he short-circuited a street overlay maintenance plan, which will now push back other projects several years.
Christianson’s performance in recent years has not been the professional, open-minded, collaborative and enlightened leadership that the city needs to move Willmar forward in this 21st century.
The time for a change in this Ward 2 seat is here.
Gardner, 55, is a document imaging sales specialist in Willmar, who has previously served one four-year term on the City Council. He said he is running because people are concerned that Willmar, once an All-America City, now cannot figure out how to fix and maintain its own streets.
He believes the City Council needs to rebuild its relationship with city staff, the business community and the community at large because we all have a stake together in moving Willmar forward. He believes that some council members have lost direction and are afraid of change. He wants to see a return to respecting other council members, city staff, community groups and all residents.
He said he has learned from “failure and defeat.” He has continued his community involvement in recent years, such as with the Vision 2040 community project and the Humane Society of Kandiyohi and Meeker Counties. A central Minnesota native, he has planted his roots here in Willmar. He is optimistic about Willmar and Kandiyohi County, which would be a refreshing perspective for this council seat.
He understands that not everything is perfect and there are improvements to be made in Willmar. Rather than placing blame, he strives to be proactive and work collaboratively toward workable solutions. More importantly, he strives to do what is best for the community as a whole. He is a change that is needed for this Ward 2 seat.
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The West Central Tribune endorses Steve Gardner for election on Nov. 4 to a Ward 2 seat on the Willmar City Council.
