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

Middle River 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 Mayor

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  • Candidate picture

    David Casanova
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Mathew Stromsodt
    (NP)

Biographical Information

Why are you the best candidate for this position? (750 characters)

If elected, what will your top three priorities be and why? (500 characters)

If elected, what strategies will you use to ensure transparency, accountability and ethical conduct in city government under your leadership? (500 characters)

How will you engage with residents to solicit feedback, involve them in decision-making processes, and ensure their voices are heard? (500 characters)

How will you approach public safety and community policing to ensure the well-being of all residents? (500 characters)

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Campaign Email youngs@wiktel.com
I feel that I am the best candidate for this position because of my background and experience. I grew up here in Middle River, and I am very proud of that. Growing up here taught me about the importance of volunteering, being a good functioning member of society, and how to treat others. I see the biggest issue here in Middle River being our budget and long-term planning. I believe I will be able to help the City Council turn this around and start to put away funds for future projects that will need to get done in town. I also feel that I can run a structured and productive meeting, which will be needed in order to cut back on the amount of meetings the city currently is having.
My top priorities would be to get our spending under control. This will be needed sooner rather than later, so that we would be able to begin planning for a long-term future for the town. Another priority is to have some sort of long-term planning schedule. Some of the major projects that I could see, would be city infrastructure, city streets, and curb and gutter projects. My last priority would be to cut back on the number of meetings the city currently is having.
I believe that a good government system needs to be as transparent as possible. A couple of ideas for this would be to try get more people to attend City Counsil meetings. This would be good for everyone, as it keeps City Counsil members, Mayor included, more accountable to what they say. Another thing that may be possible, would be to have Counsil Members have designated Email Address' though the city, where they could conduct transparent City Business.
Again, I believe much of this could be solved by trying to get more people at the meetings. Other ways to solicit feedback is to have survey's on important issues that the city has. Also, requesting feedback on the cities newsletter may help. Keeping recordings of unofficial minutes and official minutes on our website would also allow people access to the meetings even if their work hours do not coincide with city meeting times.
As we are a small town, I do not believe community policing is at the top of our current voters mind. Having a good working relationship with county and city emergency services is still a priority of the city though. I have been lucky enough to know a majority of our local first-responders, and also know the County Sherriff. I do think that the city needs to have a clear and well-kept flood response plan, as well as other emergency response plans in case anything ever comes up.
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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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