County deputy will lead Carlton after write-in vote

Carlton County Sheriff's Office deputy Mike Soderstrom can add "mayor" to his list of public roles. Soderstrom, who once served as a Carlton school board member, was the write-in choice for Carlton mayor in last week's general election.

"I guess enough of my friends and neighbors wanted me in there, so here's goes nothing," Soderstrom said. Twenty-three voters wrote his name in. The next highest tally was 14 for Ryan Spears.

Soderstrom's hesitation, with two young children and two adult children, has always been about sharing his time, he said. He was on the school board during its debt woes a decade ago. He served two years before stepping down in 2010.

"It was enjoyable," he said. "But I ended up just not having the time."

Now, he thinks he can juggle in the mayoral duties.

"My family knows I'm busy," the 47-year-old said. He learned of being the top write-in last Wednesday. City clerk Carol Conway asked him how he felt about serving. Soderstrom said he told her he would get back to her on Thursday after a discussion about it with his family. The vote was certified Thursday.

"I think I have the time," he said. If he felt he didn't, he wouldn't bother, he said. "I want to do a good job."

Kitty Bureau, the current mayor, said "a lot of people in the city wanted him to run. He's excited."

Bureau has been in public office in Carlton for 22 years. "It's time for someone else," she said. She served 12 years on the city council and four years as mayor before taking a 10-year break. She has served three terms, six years, since that break. She will turn things over to Soderstrom in January.

"I'm looking forward to more free time," Bureau said.

Soderstrom has been with the sheriff's office for 27 years. He said his job has built-in elements that will serve him well as mayor. "Being a small-town mayor is a lot of just networking," he said. He knows the business owners, the community group members, and current city staff, he said. He will seek guidance from them. "I'm certainly not a politician," he said, inferring that he will look out for the best interests of the city.

He said he has a basic philosophy about what a mayor can influence. "It's quality of life issues," he said. He wants roads to be maintained, water and sewer infrastructure up to date and public safety to be a priority. He's also wants to support small business, he said.

On top of his agenda is filling the former Wells Fargo building downtown and bolstering the tourism in the city with its trails and proximity to Jay Cooke State Park.

Official election results show that 92 write-in votes were cast for mayor. Aside from Soderstrom and Spears, most of the other write-ins were singularly unique, city clerk and treasurer Carol Conway said.

The write-ins compare to the 285 and 284 votes received by unopposed council members Brent Bodie and Ruth Jorgenson. There were 598 registered voters in the city on Election Day. The recorded turnout was 71.5 percent.

More write-ins

Two men will sit on the county's Soil and Water Conservation District board after receiving the most write-in votes.

Russ Kurhajetz will represent District 2 and Robert Fox will represent District 3. Jim Nynas (District 2) and Joe Lambert (District 3) did not seek reelection. People who are written onto a ballot are contacted to ask if they want their votes counted, essentially asking them if they'd take the job on, county auditor Paul Gassert said. Both Kurhajetz and Fox gave their assent.

Mark Thell is the current rep for District 5, but would have to resign should he prevail in the recount for a county board seat election he led after Election Day by just 16 votes.

Recount looms

Carlton County board chairwoman Susan Zmyslony officially requested a recount in the District 4 race after results showed Thell upsetting her by just 16 votes. The county auditor announced Tuesday that there will be a hand recount of ballots on Nov. 20.

Gassert said there is no mandated mechanism for recounts. Percentages of difference do count in whether the county agrees to pay for the process. Officially, Zmyslony would be expected to pay for the recount but because they are so rare on a county level, Gassert merely absorbs the recount into the regular duties at the auditor's office. He said he and staff do accept cookies. The recount is expected to begin at 1 p.m. Nov. 20 in the county board meeting room. It is open to the public.

Accepting a recount is an auditor's call. Gassert said because the county board race falls across 11 voting precincts, the margin for accounting errors warrants a hand recount. It is expected to take a few hours.

There were 3,806 votes cast in the race. Thell had 1,905 to Zmyslony's 1,889. There were 12 write-in votes.

School results hiccup

There was some debate about the number of votes cast on the Wrenshall school levy questions. Those problems popped up in the uploading process to the Minnesota Secretary of State website for official result postings. Gassert said several races in the county showed vote totals that didn't match his books. By early Wednesday, the glitch was gone from the site. Gassert said he has no idea what happened. The totals were correct in showing who or what question prevailed, but the total vote tallies were off, he said.

Wrenshall Superintendent Kim Belcastro said spoke with the auditor and any questions about the vote count were resolved.

"We just wanted to make sure it was accurate," she said.

While all the levy questions failed, Belcastro said she remains encouraged because the vote was much closer than last year's failed attempt. She met with the school board on Wednesday to discuss the next steps, including a continuation of talks about consolidating with Carlton.

Of course, the district could just go back to voters for a third time.

"Just because it failed doesn't mean our needs went away," she said.

Turnout blooms

For a so-called mid-term election, Carlton County's 75-percent turnout rate this past Election Day rivaled the numbers you see in presidential election years. Of the 20,775 registered county voters, 16,497 voted, officially a 74.97-percent voter turnout. That eclipsed the statewide number of 64 percent. In 2016, a presidential election year, the statewide turnout was 75 percent.

Off-year elections tend to bring in about half of eligible voters, according to state records. Carlton County has generally higher turnout, especially since any in-county elections are now all held in even-numbered years.

Of the 16,497 ballots that were counted in the county, 4,105 were absentee. There were 1,231 new registrations at polling places.