Tuesday, January 3, 2012
They took the oath at the first St. Louis Park City Council meeting of 2012.
Steve Hallfin and Jake Spano were sworn in Monday night as the newest members of the St. Louis Park City Council. Incumbent Mayor Jeff Jacobs was also sworn in for a new term. The three took the oath of office at the beginning of the year's first council meeting. Judge Allen Oleisky, who is a St. Louis Park resident, performed the swearing in ceremony. Both new council members took over at-large seats vacated by incumbents (Phil Finkelstein and Paul Omodt) who decided to not seek re-election. In the Nov. 8 election, Hallfin took nearly 69 percent of the vote and beat Justin Kaufman. Jake Spano took 61 percent of the vote in his race against Claudia Johnston-Madison.
Monday, December 26, 2011
St. Louis Park Patch reviews the year that was by counting down the most talked about local stories of 2011.
Editor's Note: With 2011 winding down, we're using this last week of the year to look back at the five stories that shaped St. Louis Park over the past 12 months and had people talking. Today, we look at story No. 5—the fall election. Look for story No. 4 tomorrow. It was a year of certain change for the City Council and school board, as two council incumbents—Paul Omodt and Phil Finkelstein—along with board member Rolf Peterson announced they wouldn't be running again. For Finkelstein and Peterson, spending more time with family was the deciding factor. Omodt said attacks directed toward him and his family compelled him to leave the race. When the dust settled, Steve Hallfin and Jake Spano had won the open council seats, while Joe …
Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Steve Hallfin won the at-large A seat on St. Louis Park City Council last month.
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Tuesday, December 13, 2011
Editor's Note: After last month's school board and City Council elections, St. Louis Park Patch invited all of the winning candidates to write letters to the editor reflecting on their victories—and pointing toward what's next before they officially take office in January. Below is Steve Hallfin's letter, and we will post others as they come in. When I decided to run for City Council earlier this year, I had no idea how humbling winning the At Large “A” seat would be. I received support from the entire city of St. Louis Park and beyond. This was a lot of hard work and time away from my family, but the hard work paid off. I would like to thank the Sun/Sailor and Patch for outstanding election coverage. I would like to thank all of you who …
Friday, November 11, 2011
St. Louis Park got two new City Council members and a new school board member on Tuesday.
While nearby Golden Valley saw a bit of a shakeup Tuesday night when challenger Shep Harris beat four-term incumbent Linda Loomis for the mayor's seat, St. Louis Park's election provided no such changing of the guard. Newcomers Steve Hallfin and Jake Spano won two open council seats, while Joe Tatalovich joined three incumbents in winning spots on the school board. Of course, only time will tell how these three mesh with their respective colleagues and what policy decisions will emerge. But an educated guess would suggest that St. Louis Park won't be in for a drastic change. On arguably the biggest issue facing the city—the proposed freight rail reroute—Hallfin and Spano have voiced opposition. So did the current council, by a 6-1 vote in …
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Two new council members were elected Tuesday, as were three incumbent school board members.
With Tuesday night's election behind us (recaps: City Council, school board), we figured it was a good time to look at some interesting trends and numbers that popped up: Unofficial voter turnout as reported by the city was 12 percent Tuesday night. The average turnout during the past five local general elections is about 14 percent. Here are year-by-year figures: Incumbent Mayor Jeff Jacobs, who ran unopposed this year, continued his long-standing presence on the council. He first became a council member in 1991 and became mayor in 1999. On the school board side, Julie Sweitzer and Nancy Gores each won for the third straight time—they've been on the board since 2004—while Pam Rykken won for the second straight time. Two of Tuesday night's…
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
Steve Hallfin and Jake Spano won two open seats on the St. Louis Park City Council Tuesday night.
With polls closed and all local precincts reporting, St. Louis Park voters have added Steve Hallfin and Jake Spano to the City Council. Hallfin and Spano were both running for open, at-large seats against Justin Kaufman and Claudia Johnston-Madison, respectively. Incumbents Phil Finkelstein and Paul Omodt decided earlier this year to not seek re-election. Here are the unofficial results, as reported by the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office: Incumbent Mayor Jeff Jacobs, who was unchallenged, also won re-election. For Hallfin, who lost a council election the first time he ran eight years ago, Tuesday night was a "relief." "I had a pit in my stomach all day," he said. "You just never know." Hallfin added: "I look forward to working with …
Joe Tatalovich, along with Pam Rykken, Nancy Gores and Julie Sweitzer, won in Tuesday's St. Louis Park School Board election.
With polls closed and all local precincts reporting, St. Louis Park voters have re-elected three incumbents and added one newcomer to the school board. The newcomer, Joe Tatalovich, was the top vote-getter, according to unofficial results. He will be joined on the board by incumbents Pam Rykken, Nancy Gores and Julie Sweitzer. Bill Levine finished in fifth place and was not elected. Here are the unofficial results, as reported by the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office: Tatalovich said he was "incredibly excited" by the news. "I'm honored to have the support of this community," he said. After failing to win election four years ago, Tatalovich said it was also very satisfying to make this kind of progress. "It's nice to know I learned …
We want to see you show off your civic engagement.
While there may be no presidential candidates on the ballot today, cities across Minnesota are holding vital elections. These city council and school board contests will go a long way toward determining what happens at the local level, in your own backyard. As a Patch reader, you probably understand very well the importance of these local elections, so we want to see you show off your civic engagement. If you snap some photos after leaving the polling booth today, you're welcome to share them here (just click the green button below). These can include pictures of you and others wearing "I Voted" stickers, a group standing outside a polling place and more. Please include your name and city when submitting a photo. So get out there and vote…
Today is election day in St. Louis Park.
After an August primary, months of campaigning and several forums, election day has finally arrived in St. Louis Park. With four candidates vying for two open City Council seats, we want to know who you are supporting, so check out our poll below and feel free to leave a comment at the end of this article. For more on today's election, which includes a race for four open school board seats, check out our election guide.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Everything you need to know to vote on Nov. 8.
Election day in St. Louis Park is just 24 hours a way, and it's a very important election at that—the city will be getting two new council members and at least one new school board member. To help you prepare, we've aggregated our coverage of the candidates from the past few months into a convenient, clickable package. To learn more about a candidate, simply click on his or her name below. We've also included a link to a handy poll locator. We hope everyone gets out and votes on Tuesday! At-large A race: Steve Hallfin Justin Kaufman At-large B race Claudia Johnston-Madison Jake Spano Nancy Gores Bill Levine Pam Rykken Julie Sweitzer Joe Tatalovich (four will be elected) *** Not sure where to vote? Check out the city's MyNeighborhood search…
Nancy E Gertner
7:27 am on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Congratulations to the new council members. We'll be watching you on cable in upcoming meetings, if we don't attend in person! ; ) more ›