Cleveland is a small community of just over 700 people to the east of St. Peter. When it comes time for elections, most of the time they have just enough candidates to fill a races, sometimes enough to make it a little competitive. This year, like so many rural cities across the state, their ballots are going to be a little more full.
With a mayor seat and two council seats up for election, there are three candidates running in each race. That’s a breath of fresh air from 2018, two election cycles ago, when there was just one candidate for mayor. That change isn’t coincidental, either.
“You see things in your community that you’d like to change, just a general feeling of the people’s considerations haven’t been met, so that’s my big driver is to really represent the people that you’re elected to do,” Elizabeth Cap said. “That’s why I’m running for mayor.”
Cap is one of the challengers for the incumbent mayor’s, Don McCabe, seat. The other one, Nancy Gens, is a familiar face for McCabe. Not only was she his challenger in 2022, but she serves on the council with McCabe as a city councilmember. As for why she’s running, it’s simple.
“I think it’s time for a change,” she said.
Cap says that, in conversations she’s had with residents, they feel that the community’s voice isn’t being heard by their city council. That’s why it’s time, in her eyes, for those community members to pick up the torch and start to run.
“When it comes to elected positions, you tend to see a lot of business owners, people that maybe have personal reasons why they want to be able to be involved in the decision-making process. While it is good to have business owners, a diverse representation that reflects what your community is made of I think really helps (the community,)” Cap said. “Our whole country is built on democracy that it’s supposed to be for the people, by the people.”
From her position on the city council, Gens says the problem isn’t exactly a non-existent one.
“I think that might be accurate,” Gens said, referring to Cleveland residents feeling like their voices aren’t being heard. “We need more of an effort to involve the community.”
It’s not a problem unique to Cleveland.
Scott Thompson has only lived in Elysian, a rural community of about 700 that lies between Madison Lake and Waterville, since April. However, in that time he’s seen the same issue. He says there have been some issues with some council members and city staff “not treating people equally.” He alleges there are some streets the city is taxing but aren’t within city limits, and the city wasn’t providing service on the streets. The Free Press has not yet been able to independently verify this claim.
It’s why, as a new resident, Thompson is seeking election to one of the two council seats up for election. He’s one of five candidates running.
“I see lots of opportunities for improvement to make a great community even better than it is today, and that’s why I was willing to put my hat in the ring,” he said. “I’m pleased that there are that many people willing to, at least in Elysian, step up and serve.”
Thompson says Elysian is another city that has traditionally struggled to get names on the ballot. However, that problem could soon be ending, based on how things are going in his mind.
“I know from talking with neighbors that two years ago that case was present in Elysian, where they were struggling to get candidates to fill out the ballot,” Thompson said. “I can only suspect that perhaps, at this point, people are seeing what’s going on in politics at all levels and wanting to hopefully make sure that their voice is heard and that they’re willing to step up and serve their communities. I think it’s a ray of hope and light.”