Clarification of story on what would happen if Dehen wins County Board seat

Tim Krohn, The Free Press, Mankato, Minn.
·2 min read

Dec. 2—NORTH MANKATO — A story in Wednesday's Free Press about what would happen if North Mankato Mayor Mark Dehen wins his bid in a special election for a Nicollet County commissioner's race needs clarification.

If Dehen were to win the seat, the City Council would appoint an interim mayor to fill out the term, which expires at the end of 2022. The council could appoint a current council member as interim mayor.

North Mankato City Administrator John Harrenstein said that after further reviewing state statutes, he found he was incorrect when he stated that if a current council member were appointed as interim mayor, that council seat would stay open until the November 2022 election.

The statute, he said, reads that any vacancy on the council "shall" be filled by a council appointment and the seat can't simply be left open until the next general election.

Harrenstein said that by the time the Nicollet County election is held in April 2022, none of the existing terms of the four council members will exceed two years. That means that if one of the existing council members would be appointed interim mayor, the council would simply appoint someone to fill the then-vacant council seat.

Two council seat terms end in 2022 and two council seat terms end in 2024. Any individual appointed to a vacant council term will serve until the end of the term and will either run for election in November of 2022 or November of 2024, depending on the Council seat they are appointed to fill.

The special Nicollet County election was due to the death of County Commissioner Denny Kemp at the end of September.

Two other candidates, David Haack and Kenneth DeWitte, also have filed for the county seat. The filing period closed Tuesday. There will be a primary election Feb. 8 with the the two top vote-getters facing off in the special election April 12.