Jake Anderson 'excited about the future' as St. Cloud's new mayor
St. Cloud mayor-elect Jake Anderson says he hopes to hit the ground running when he takes office in January.
Anderson, an IT project manager for Stearns County, edged out his opponent, Mike Conway, in Tuesday's election with about 51 percent of the vote. Both are current members of the St. Cloud City Council.
Anderson will replace longtime mayor Dave Kleis who did not seek reelection after nearly two decades in office.
In an interview Wednesday afternoon, Anderson described his reaction to winning as "to be honest, still a little surprised."
"I always have a lot of self-doubt, especially when it comes to elections and campaigns, that I chose the right strategy and that things would turn out," he said. "But I'm feeling quite content and excited about the future."
Anderson thinks his campaign, focused on local issues such as public safety, infrastructure, improving public spaces and bringing pride back to the city, struck a chord with voters.
The 45-year-old said many people told him they also wanted to vote for someone younger with fresh ideas. Being known for having a low-key personality also helped, Anderson said.
"I've never been out to have my name in headlines," he said. "I try to avoid it when possible, which is odd for somebody in politics, I guess. But I think people appreciated that."
Anderson said he'll begin working with Kleis and city staff on the transition process so he can get started on addressing city issues as quickly as he can after he's sworn in in January. A key priority, Anderson said, will be St. Cloud rebooting its vision for revitalizing the city's downtown.
That could include revisiting an effort to establish a business improvement district to help pay for improvements or asking the Legislature for bonding money, he said.
"I also want to get a lot of buy-in from the downtown and the community, so it needs to be a very inclusive process," Anderson said. He said he also wants to work on addressing homelessness in the city, and on increasing available housing.
St. Cloud voters also elected three new at-large city council members: Tami Calhoun, Mark Johnson and Scott Brodeen. The lone incumbent on the ballot, George Hontos, lost his seat.
Two candidates who hoped to become the first Somali-American city council members in St. Cloud, Hudda Ibrahim and Omar Podi, were not successful.
There will be another open position on the city council when Anderson resigns his seat, likely on Nov. 18. The council will have 30 days to appoint his replacement or the task falls to the mayor.
