Lundberg, Wakefield file for mayor

Brandon residents will be going to the polls April 9 to elect the city council’s top position: the mayor.

Mayor Paul Lundberg – the first to file for the four-year position – will be challenged by ward 3 alderman Tim Wakefield, whose petition for nomination was filed early last week. 

Lundberg was appointed to the mayoral role in October 2018 following the resignation of Larry Beesley, who served in that capacity just shy of 16 years. 

Lundberg said he wants to continue in this role because it is a passion.

“I deeply love this city and giving back to the community that has been so good to me and my family is rewarding. These past few months have given me a short time to be part of this growing community, and I look forward to being able to continue working to ensure the best possible life for Brandon residents,” he said “Serving the residents of Brandon is something that I have valued throughout my career at the school district, and it is something that I will continue to value at the city.”

Wakefield is a relative newcomer to city government. He ran unopposed in 2018 for the four-year ward 3 chair, and took office in May 2018. 

The alderman said he’s strived “to be the most approachable and easily reached elected official in Brandon.” 

“My stance has always been and always will be to ensure that I am working for the people I represent. I will continue to take action based on the feedback from those residents that reach out to me. I also continue to dig into any concerns that residents have. My vote when I am sitting at the council chambers is not a vote of Tim Wakefield, it is a vote of the 2,975 people from Ward 3,” he said. “I was truly humbled this year that not only were residents willing to sign my petition, many also went out and collected signatures for me. Having such a strong support network continues to solidify my ‘why’ for being interested in the mayoral position.”

Both candidates were required to collect 50 signatures.

If Wakefield is elected Brandon’s next mayor, he would appoint – along with council majority approval - a ward 3 resident to serve the remaining three years of his term. If Lundberg wins the race, Wakefield would retain his ward 3 alderman role.

There will be no races for the one-year ward 1 position, or the two- and four-year terms in ward 2.

Tim Jorgenson, who currently serves on the city’s planning and zoning commission, was the only ward 1 resident to file.

Dana Clark, who was appointed in June 2018, was uncontested for the ward 2, four-year term, and soon-to-retire police chief Dave Kull was also unopposed for the ward 2, two-year term. 

Registered voters in Brandon will cast ballots in the mayoral election Tuesday, April 9, at one of three polling precincts: City Hall, Brandon Fire Station and Brandon Golf Course.

In Valley Springs, Mayor Carl Moss will retain his position. He was the only one to file. Moss will complete his first four-year term as mayor. Prior to that, he served 12 years as a city commissioner.