Four candidates for New Ulm Mayor took part in the League of Women Voters candidate forum Wednesday night. From left are Kathleen Backer, Jeff Kiecker, Mark Rutz and Ronald Wendinger. The primary election is Tuesday, Aug. 9. The New Ulm mayor election will be on the primary, and the top two vote-getters will move on to the general election in November.

NEW ULM– Voters got a chance to learn about the mayoral candidates Wednesday, as four of the five candidates participated in the League of Women Voters mayoral candidate forum.

Candidates present were Kathleen Backer, Jeff Kiecker, Mark Rutz and Ronald Wendinger. The fifth candidate, Lonnie Luepke, was unable to attend due to a hospitalization.

New Ulm will have a new mayor in January after Mayor Terry Sveine announced he would not run for another term.

During opening statments, Backer said she was born and raised in New Ulm and had been afforded many opportunities in her personal and professional career that would make her a good mayor. This included working with the city, county and state. She is the executive director of the Brown County Historical Society.

“Elect me, (and) I will energize, engage and motivate the community of New Ulm,” she said.

In his opening statement, Kiecker said he is a full-time employee of AMPI as well as the owner of several businesses, including 507 Party Bus, a moving company and a lawn mowing/snow removal business.

“I am very hard working, but I feel like everyone should work as a whole,” Kiecker said. “If there is anything I could help with if elected mayor, I would love to listen.”

Rutz said his background includes an education in chemical engineering with an MBA from the University of Chicago with a concentration in finance and statistics. Rutz worked as a business development professional.

“Over the years I have organized and coordinated quite a few organizations, and I think I have a natural aptitude for doing that,” Rutz said.

Wendinger is a 1963 graduate of Cathedral High School and a retired farmer. He has lived in New Ulm for the last 21 years. He is active in the New Ulm American Legion, serving three years as the second vice commander. During COVID, he helped keep the organization viable during the shutdown. He is a member of the Comrades of Valor and a former member of the Concord Singers.

Each candidate was asked what they believed were the top issues facing New Ulm.

Rutz believed New Ulm was still dealing with the impact of COVID, and inflation would continue to be an issue going forward. He believed keeping the community safe and continuing to foster decency in the community were important.

Wendinger believed bringing in smaller businesses was important, as well as keeping infrastructure up to date. He believed this would create an environment that would encourage young people to come back to New Ulm and raise a family.

He believed affordable housing was necessary and keeping up the park system. He also supported the Oak Hills expansions project and revitalization of downtown New Ulm.

Kiecker felt keeping people happy was important to attract people to the city and fill job vacancies. He was concerned with recent business closing due to a work shortage.

“People are getting close to retirement, and the younger generation have to step up to the plate,” he said.

Backer cited housing, day care, economic development, business retention, labor shortage and public safety as top issues. She included mental health as a concern.

She felt city staff, committees and sub-committees already in New Ulm working on some of these problems. As mayor, she would help to further their agendas while also looking into state and federal assistance.

On how to alleviate the day care crisis in New Ulm, Backer said as director of BCHS she had already implemented a summer day camp as an alternative to day care. She also recommended the city consider repurposing city-owned buildings to establish a cooperative day care.

Rutz did not believe in the government’s role to institute day care. He believed government could provide the data to promote sensible responses to the crisis.

Wendinger suggested having financial institutions pool resources to assist day care in getting started through loans.

Kiecker said the day care crisis was an opportunity to fill jobs. People are unable to work if no one is available to watch their children. He suggested asking Martin Luther College to assist, as it is a college for teachers, many of whom plan to work with children.

On the new proposed fixed-bus route in New Ulm, most of the candidates were supportive of the plan but were uncertain if it was an efficient solution.

Rutz said buses could be efficient but was not certain if New Ulm was large enough to need a fixed bus line. He would not advocate one way or the other for it.

Backer was excited about established bus routes but wanted an assessment to determine if the correct route was being used.

One of the mayor’s responsibilities is appointing individuals to city commissions. The candidates were each asked how they would fill them.

Wendinger advocated for finding new people to serve rather than relying on the same people.

Backer agreed with Wendinger that it was important to get the younger people involved, and suggested appointing people in their 20s and 30s.

A question on how to promote New Ulm, Kiecker wanted to accentuate the positives of New Ulm, such as safety.

Wendinger said one outside-the-box approach was possible to sponsor people to move here. He suggested taking in refugees from Ukraine. He said it could put New Ulm on the map and be an example to other communities.

Backer suggested working with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and using the latest technology to reach audiences willing to come to New Ulm.

Asked how they would get young families involved, Rutz believed young families wanted a safe and healthy community. If New Ulm created a good environment for families, they would stay in the city and grow.

Backer said city meetings needed to be brought to the young people. Their input was needed and she wanted to empower them to take on projects.

Kiecker agreed to talk and listening to young people was the best option.

Wendinger said the Rec Center improvements were a great improvement to the community. He said these places needed to be created for young people.

“Being unoccupied is the devil’s workshop,” he said.

The mayor position is a four-year term. The next mayor will serve from Jan. 2023 through Dec 2026.