Staff photo by Clay Schuldt Mayoral candidates Kathleen Backer and Bob Beussman take part in a pre-election forum in New Ulm on Monday.

NEW ULM — The League of Women Voters held a Mayoral Candidates Forum, Tuesday. The two candidates running for the mayoral seat are incumbent Robert Beussman and challenger Kathleen Backer.

Backer said if elected she would dedicate herself to making New Ulm the best place to live, while making herself accessible to constituents. She will advocate for the citizens and give them a voice on the issues. She promised to be a candidate for change with priorities set on Highway 14 completion, completing RENU projects within budget, addressing housing and expanding retail and economic base.

Beussman said he was originally from Springfield but came to New Ulm to teach. He did that for 33 years, retired and continued on with other things. He also served time in the U.S. Army during Vietnam.

Moderator Ruth Ann Webster said the league had only one prepared question and that was what you view as the most important role of the New Ulm mayor.

Beussman said the charter listed the mayor’s function as overseeing the city government. The mayor’s job is to report on problems encountered to the proper officials, but he believes the most important job is to be available to citizens and to answer all questions. Beussman said if he doesn’t have the answer, he will find out who does have the answer.

Backer agreed with the charter description, but added that being mayor meant being an advocate for New Ulm in ceremonial occasions and being a source for change or the status quo, depending on the situation. Backer said she would leverage the private and government sector to find solutions for New Ulm.

The candidates were asked if diversity was important on city commissions and how it should be maintained.

“I believe diversity is very important,” Backer said. “I believe it is here. If we don’t’ think it’s here, we have a lot of education to do.”

She said the last thing New Ulm should do is to be off-putting to citizens or potential business owners. Education was an important step which could be accomplished through furthering the Human Rights Commission cause. She said if citizens are not aware of diversity they cannot fix the problems when they arrive.

Beussman supported getting citizens to come out and meet newcomers. He said one of the things he was proud of as mayor was his attempts to create balanced city commissions by adding equal gender representation. Beussman said he doesn’t like a good old boys club or a good old girls club. Beussman said that creating diversity on commissions requires the mayor to convince people they are qualified to sit on a particular commission.

Highway 14 completion has long been a cause championed by the New Ulm mayor; the candidates were asked how to speed up the process.

Backer said waving a magic wand was not possible, but said the current problem was getting the money. Her solution was to keep the Highway 14 Coalition energized to finish the last section.

Beussman agreed the coalition was needed to complete Highway 14. He said the final plans for the road coming into New Ulm were drawn; it was a matter of getting the money. Beussman said the only way the money would come was through taxes.

Tourism was identified as having an important role in New Ulm. The candidates were asked about the mayor’s role in supporting tourism.

Both agreed it was an important aspect of the mayor’s job. Backer identified the need for recreational tourism, in terms of athletics coming to the city.

Beussman said it was important to be front and center at festivals to meet and greet people.

“It’s a busy task but I love it,” he said.

On economic growth, Beussman supported creating a Greater Brown County growth program to support economics throughout the region. Backer agreed with the need to build partnerships, but she also wanted to focus on business retention. She pointed out that New Ulm had 24 business startups in the last two years.

“How many of us knew that,” she said. Backer added that people tend to be doom and gloom over the loss of one business, but the number of new businesses is greater. Backer reminded voters that New Ulm is not on an island, every other community in the country was facing similar economic issues. She felt New Ulm’s backdrop gave the city an advantage over other communities.

Asked what he would change if elected, Beussman said he wanted more openness, diversity and cooperation. He said the issues with the holiday garlands will only be solved through cooperation. Securing the anchors will cost a significant amount of money and the entire city will need to support these efforts.

Backer said completing Highway 14 was a top priority for change, but she also wanted to keep the community energized all the time and not just during festivals, and embrace diversity.

During closing remarks, Beussman said New Ulm is a great community and said “we’re lucky to live in New Ulm.” He specifically acknowledged the hard work of the PUC in keeping the power on in New Ulm.

Backer said she loved New Ulm and wanted to serve as mayor. She said she would dedicate her efforts to making sure New Ulm was the best place to live, by monitoring tax dollars, working toward affordable housing and acknowledging the businesses that invested in New Ulm.

“By working together I believe we can meet the challenges and maximize the opportunities for New Ulm,” she said.

The mayoral election will be during the Tuesday, Nov 6, General Election.

The video of this and other League of Women Voter forums will be made available later for viewing through NUCAT’s YouTube channel. For more information about election visit www.mnvotes.org.