Ward 3 New Ulm city council candidates Heath Dobberpuhl (left) and Tom Schmitz (right) discuss the format for the League of Women Vote candidate forum with moderator Kathleen Berg.

NEW ULM — The League of Women Voters (LWV) held their first local candidate forum Tuesday, featuring New Ulm’s Ward 3 City Councilors Heath Dobberpuhl and Tom Schmitz.

Earlier this year, Current Ward 3 councilor Les Schultz announced he would not seek another term with New Ulm City Council. Dobberpuhl and Schmitz both filed to seek the Ward 3 seat.

During the candidate forum, Dobberpuhl and Schmitz took turns answering questions posed by the LWV and questions submitted by the public.

The forum began with the candidates’ opening statements. Schmitz said he was running for Ward 3 because he was passionate about the local community and committed to community involvement.

“I believe efficiency and effectiveness are two key aspects that all cities should strive for,” Schmitz said.

Schmitz recently retired as New Ulm’s Park and Recreation Director, a position he served in for 18 years. In retirement, Schmitz believes he has time to collaborate with the city in the future.

Dobberpuhl said he was motivated to run for Ward 3 because of his love for New Ulm.

“This is a unique place, a special place and a great place to raise a family,” he said.

Dobberpuhl currently works as a science a professor and Martin Luther College. He first moved to New Ulm in 1993 as a college student. He was excited to return to New Ulm as a teacher Minnesota Valley Lutheran.

Dobberpuhl said at the core New Ulm was special because of its people. He said the city is home to content, law-biding citizens because New Ulm has great jobs, clean neighborhoods and great schools.

“Not all cities are like this and we should keep it this way,” he said.

The candidates were asked about ground rules they would follow to ensure they served with civility.

Dobberpuhl as a teacher, it was necessary to have strong ground rule for working with a variety of people.

“A teacher needs to work civilly with all stakeholders to help everyone move forward,” he said. “I think these values lend well to the role of city council.”

Dobberpuhl believes listening to both sides and digging into the facts is crucial in decision making, but also communicating in a timely manner.

Schmitz said he treats everyone with respect, kindness and empathy.

“I live by the platinum rule: to treat others better than they want to be treated,” he said.

As a councilor he would focus on listening to constituents and following up with conversations with pursing answers.

The candidates were asked to list their three goals for New Ulm. Both express a need to expand housing and maintain education options.

Dobberpuhl said for over a decade housing has been a priority for New Ulm with many employees driving into New Ulm because they cannot find local housing. He also wanted to see the city work to fill the empty businesses on the south side of New Ulm. Dobberpuhl said with many people entering the city from the south side and are not seeing the most prosperous side.

“I believe the city should provide the push to get the business open or get those buildings used,” he said.

His third goal was to push automation training through the schools. He specifically cited using Project Lead the Way, a school STEM (science technology, engineering and mathematics) curriculum. He believed this would train the workforce for New Ulm.

Schmitz said his first goal was bringing employers to further develop the economy. His second goal was bringing people into New Ulm to grow the population and keep it sustainable. His third goal was improving quality life for the citizens which included maintaining schools, access to healthcare, reliable utilities and housing.

On the question of whether the Garden Terrace should be sold to a private entity, the candidates were split. The Garden Terrace apartments are currently owned by the city and create an ongoing revenue source for the city, but also have expenses.

Schmitz was uncertain if it should be sold because of the consistent revenue strain it generated, but understood their were costs connecting to maintaining the building. He believed the decision to turn it over to the private sector should be reviewed in detail.

“It is certainly not an off the cuff decision,” Schmitz said. “It is a very serious topic that needs to be thoroughly vetted and thoroughly analyzed before the council makes a decision.”

Dobberpuhl believed the Garden Terrace should be sold. He believed the sale would encourage other outside investors to come in to build housing. Dobberpuhl believed having the city as a main competitor in housing was dangerous for encouraging outside investments.

“One of the reasons housing is so short is because we don’t have a lot of apartment buildings,” he said. “We shouldn’t be competing with those who might help.”

On the topic of infrastructure, Dobberpuhl said the city need to keep infrastructure maintenance in mind.

“We easily have a Park and Rec budget that is double most city’s our size,” he said.

Dobberpuhl had concerns this level of spending was unsustainable in terms of infrastructure.

Schmitz praised the city’s support staff for maintaining New Ulm’s infrastructure. He praised the master plan that schedules maintenance and replacements were budgeted. Schmitz said power outages in New Ulm do not last long due to the diligence of utility workers.

“Expansion of our community has to be planned and utility has to be part of that,” he said.

In their closing statements, Dobberpuhl said he wanted to make sure the community was strong in all facets.

“I believe my analytical gifts and learning abilities would be useful on the council,” he said.

Schmitz said the majority of his 45 years in employment were in the public sector, including working with the city. He was willing to be available to communicating with everyone in the community.

The entire Ward 3 Candidate forum will be available on New Ulm’s YouTube channel, accessible through the city’s website. New Ulm Community Access Television (NUCAT) will also periodically broadcast the forum before the election.

The City Council election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 5 as part of the general election.