Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

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Voter Guide

Northfield City Mayor

The mayor is usually the head of the city and may represent the city in front of other government bodies. They also can preside at council meetings and appoint city workers. A mayor usually has a role in proposing a city budget which influences services provided to residents and can veto ordinances proposed by the city council.Voting in local elections is important - learn more here: Why Vote for MayorA forum for the candidates in this race was held on June 27, 2024 at 7:05pm at Viking Theater, St. Olaf College - watch the recording here.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.

  • Candidate picture

    Ruth Dahl
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Erica Zweifel
    (NP)

Biographical Information

What are the boundaries or constraints regarding the matters that can be addressed by this particular level of government?

How will you ensure that voices from all constituents will be heard/accessible?

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Campaign Website http://www.ruth4mayor.com
Contact Phone 507 649 1727
Facebook (Full URL) http://facebook.com/profile.php?id=6156041396134
Campaign Email ruth4mayor@outlook.com
Northfield property tax rates are too high and projected to rise 30% over next 2 years. The current Council is engaging in too many costly projects at one time. Communication with City hall is adversarial at this time; we need to provide a welcoming environment for all citizens and developers coming into Northfield. The residents of Northfield need to feel respected and not ignored. The City Council needs to be respectful of other entities using tax dollars in Northfield, specifically the Public Schools. We are all digging in the same tax payers pockets for funding. We need a more engaging and collaborative environment.
We should improve the communications in the Council Chambers immediately. If attending on line or in person very little is heard and understood by the audiences. City offices need to be welcoming and open. When 1100+ voters sign a petition for reconsideration of a project, that petition needs to be carefully considered and evaluated by the Council. It was ignored because it contained some "small technical errors." It is still the voice of many residents.
Campaign Website http://ericaformayor.org
Contact Phone 5076637131
Facebook (Full URL) http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61561927140810
Campaign Email erica@ericaformayor.org
Fiscal responsibility must be a constraint of local government. Under my leadership, we’ll start with available resources to prioritize and plan city projects which are manageable in terms of debt and tax capacity, life-cycle costs, staff time and citizen input. We must plan with neighboring counties and townships, as well as the Northfield school district, to reduce tax levy spikes, make coordinated infrastructure investments, and manage regional issues like water and transportation better.
More voices at the table leads to better solutions for Northfield. A prime reason I’m running for mayor is to move Northfield beyond the current mayor’s focus on “civility” which excludes many voices and needed criticism. I’m committed to real engagement which prioritizes constituent voices, welcomes debate, and tells people how their input is used to make decisions. Public input must happen earlier so local knowledge can be used to plan rather than be limited to comments on finished projects.
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The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

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