Willenburg challenging Kautz again for Burnsville mayor
Jerry Willenburg
Jerry Willenburg, who gave Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz the toughest race of her long career in 2008, is going for a rematch.
Both Kautz and Willenburg have filed for mayor in the November election. Filing opened May 22 and will close at 5 p.m. June 5.
Council members Dan Gustafson and Mary Sherry have filed for re-election. No other candidates had filed as of Thursday afternoon.
Kautz, first elected mayor in 1994, defeated Willenburg by 54 to 46 percent in 2008 in a raucous election focused largely on the approved but still-unbuilt Performing Arts Center and the Heart of the City redevelopment.
Willenburg opposed city construction of the $20 million center, which opened in January 2009. Willenburg had run for City Council and the District 191 School Board before running for mayor.
The city’s website includes a section where candidate affidavits are posted as they come in. Go to www.burnsville.org/DocumentCenter/Home/Index/332.
Please get a lawn sign over to my house! If you are elected, I expect the operating loss in the newspapers for the Burnsville Performing Arts Center to agree with the operating loss for the Burnsville Performing Arts Center showing in the CAFR reports. The $500,000 plus difference is too much.
Please verify that telling the truth is not too much to expect and pick up our campaign contribution for your winning campaign.
The Heart of theCity was a great concept. The execution was flawed. For example, the building on the corner of Nicollet and Parkway: We are willing to park in the ramp and walk over to Jensen’s because the food is good, and we will be there an hour or more. But, why go to that trouble for the flower or gift shop, when we can park right in front of Bachman’s in Apple Valley?
Remember, Burnsville’s citizens are older. We have stayed here because we like the city, but businesses have to accommodate people who have aching knees and hips.
Anther example is the condo that overlooks the CUB parking lot–seriously? If you live in the suburbs with parks and large green lawns, why would you move there?
The PAC was a great idea, It would have been wonderful if the Chanhassen Theater had moved there, with a large recurring audience. Building the venue without a partner that would bring in a steady stream of customers was a mistake.
The PCA needs a partner that will create a recurring stream of customers: For example, they could offer performers who appeal to different demographics each week of the month: The first week end would be county music (which appeals to a broad range of ages); the second week end could be folk, blue grass, R&B, and old time rock and roll, which appeals to people in Burnsville’s age group; the third week end could be for punk and alt rock and hip hop, to appeal to younger folks; and the fourth week could be for local artists such as the Steels, Butch Thompson, Prince (?) Michael Johnson, Debbie Duncan, Bob Dylan (?), Lorrie Line,….The Twin Cities are a hot bed of talent that needs another outlet. The repetition of genres that appeal to different demographics, could build a stream of repeat customers.
There may be better ideas, but the PCA needs a steady stream of repeat customers who provide revenue for the PCA and customers for Burnsville businesses. It was fine to have city leaders with optimistic ideas in the past, but now we need a mayor and council members who are pragmatic. A grand scheme is not enough. Details matter.
Certainly, we respect the fact that Burnsville has an excellent rating in the bond market, and has been able to hold the tax rates at a fair level, but to maintain those favorable qualities in the future, we must have down-to-earth, sensible leaders who consider the advantages and disadvantages of great ideas with a clear, unbiased perspective.
The issue is about telling the truth about the Operating Loss for the PAC.!!!!!!! A big lie was told in 2007 to sell this amenity and three annual audits have exposed the lie!
Elizabeth Kautz is a great mayor. Burnsville has a AAA bond rating which is better than the United States as a whole, the State of Minnesota, or even the nearby city of Lakeville. Crime is also down nearly 37% in Burnsville since she took office nearly 18 years ago. VOTE KAUTZ for Mayor in 2012!
And Elizabeth Kautz had what to do about the AAA bond rating?