(KNSI) — St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis announced Friday he is not running for re-election in November.
Kleis was first elected to the city office in 2005, defeating incumbent Mayor John Ellenbecker. Before that, he served in the Minnesota Senate for ten years.
Kleis ran for re-election unopposed several times but did get several challengers in 2020 and defeated Steven Schiller in the general election. He said others running for mayor will be a great opportunity for them, and also a great opportunity for the citizens.
He says service has been a part of his whole life, enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, calling it the most important thing to him.
Kleis ran for mayor for the first time in 1989, but it wasn’t his time, coming in seventh out of eight candidates.
He also announced Friday a change to city charter moving elections to an odd year, citing many residents don’t vote for local at large seats in major election year. Kleis is asking for another change by eliminating the at-large seats and moving to all wards. Currently, St. Cloud has four wards and three at large seats. The switch would create seven wards with one rep each.
Those changes must be approved by the Charter Commission.
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