Jerry Bohn - Mayoral Candidate
8809 Ridge Ponds Drive
Victoria, Minnesota 55386
Family:  Marlene and I have been married for 35 years.  We have three married children and four grandchildren.
Occupation:  Retired.  We owned our own manufacturing business for 11 years.
Victoria resident:  7 ½ years.
Why would you want to sacrifice family and personal time for hours of city council work and meetings?  I have enjoyed being a member of the city council for the past six years and now that I am retired, I have the time to commit to the extensive responsibilities that are part of serving as mayor.  I want to do this because this is a way of giving back to the community.
As you see it, what is the purpose of city government?  City government exists to provide services for residents that make neighborhoods safe and pleasant and pro-vide recreation opportunities for residents.  The city has to manage growth so new development does not cause an increased tax burden for existing residents.
What has prepared you to be a leader in the City of Victoria?  I have been a member of the Victoria City Council for the past six years.  As a result, I am well versed on city finances and long range plans.  My extensive management and financial background are important skills required to be a leader in the City of Victoria.
In what ways would you continue the strides and successes made under the leadership of Mayor Mary?  I would be remiss not to acknowledge the contribu-tions of the councilmembers, including past members Jim Paulsen and Tim Amundsen, to the strides and success of the past eight years Mary has been mayor.  This has very much been a team effort.
I would continue to manage housing growth so it is not a burden to existing taxpayers, which was a major initiative of the past eight years.  I would continue efforts to attract new businesses to down-town -- a long process of acquiring land and obtaining sufficient population to make new businesses viable.
Finally, I would focus on making Diethelm Park and the field house all they can be.  We need to offer programs that will benefit all age groups, and we need to create initiatives that will maximize rev-enues to keep subsidies to a reasonable level.  Mayor Mary certainly was the prime mover on the field house, and this will be her legacy.
What projects would you hope to initiate in the city in the next five years?  I see three major projects we will have to undertake in the next five years.  The first is to continue efforts to bring new office, retail, and high density housing to our downtown, to offer local services to our residents, and to provide tax revenues so single family housing isn't the only source of tax revenue.
The second initiative is annexation.  Developers have purchased 800 acres south and west of Victoria, and we antici-pate they will be requesting annexation in the near future.  We will want to work with Laketown Township and the devel-opers to manage this growth so it does not change the character of the city or become a burden to existing taxpayers or Laketown residents.
The final project I would want to initiate is road reconstruction.  We need to implement the road reconstruction plan we developed a couple years ago.  This would be a multiyear project to upgrade badly deteriorating streets in the older parts of Victoria.
Who are your heroes or mentors?  Harry Truman because he was honest, thoroughly researched issues, accepted responsibility, and made decisions that were in the best interests of all Americans.

Richard Tieden - Mayoral Candidate
8433 Spruce Point
Victoria, Minnesota 55386
Family:  Married to my wife Catherine, with son Michael and daughter Annie.
Occupation:  I am a member of the Victoria City Council and a Career Proba-tion Officer with Hennepin County.
Victoria resident:  5 years.
Why would you want to sacrifice family and personal time for hours of city council work and meetings?  The time I spend as a Victoria City Councilman is considerable and continues to increase as our city grows.  The business of the city always teaches you something, and re-minds you of what you have yet to learn.
As residents of Victoria, my wife and teenage children are proud of our commu-ity, and we all find ways to contribute to it.  I've never felt that time spent on city business is a sacrifice.  Rather, it's an opportunity to help build our community and understand what it takes to make that happen.  I believe that we all find time for those things that are important to us.
As you see it, what is the purpose of city government?  The purpose of city government is to provide for the safety and essential services of the community.  I believe it's vital to control the rate of growth of the city, and to do so in such a way that it pays for itself.  When this is accomplished effectively, it contributes to holding the tax rate down.  Also, listening to the citizens and providing opportunity through an orderly process is clearly a right and an expectation that must always be provided.
What has prepared you to be a leader in the City of Victoria?  As a city council-man, member of the Park and Recreation Committee, and Victoria Lion, I make it a priority to listen to all points of view and maintain as much flexibility as possible.  I believe that the more you involve yourself with your community, the more under-standing you have of the wants and needs of its citizens.
As examples, by listening to the com-munity, the building of the field house in Diethelm Park not only provides hockey and other skating opportunities, but a 7,000-square foot aerobics/weight training room, elevated walking/running track, gymnasium, food service, and an abun-dance of programs and opportunities for citizens of all ages.
I've listened to concerns of bringing an elementary school to Victoria and, in response, two weeks ago I met Superin-tendent Beverly Stofferahn, continuing the dialogue between School District #112 and our city. 
Click here to continue.