Election Day arrives Tuesday, Nov. 5

By Joseph Back
Posted 10/30/24

The fall election is here. With Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5, polls open in South Washington County at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. In person absentee voting meanwhile is already happening in …

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Election Day arrives Tuesday, Nov. 5

Posted

The fall election is here.
With Election Day Tuesday, Nov. 5, polls open in South Washington County at 7:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. In person absentee voting meanwhile is already happening in Washington County and runs through Monday, Nov. 4 at the following locations:
• Cottage Grove Service Center: 13000 Ravine Parkway, Cottage Grove.
• Forest Lake Headwaters Service Center: 19955 Forest Road N, Forest Lake.
• Washington County Government Center: 14949 62nd Street. N., Stillwater.
• Woodbury City Hall: 8301 Valley Creek Road, Woodbury
• Oakdale City Hall: 1584 Hadley Avenue N., Oakdale.
Hours for in person absentee voting at the five above locations are as follows:
Saturday, November 2nd: 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Sunday, November 3rd: 8 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Monday, November 4th: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m.
All voters whether on Election Day or prior via absentee must show ID. Proof of residence if will also be needed if unregistered. Cottage Grove is divided into eight voting precincts, each having a separate designated polling place. Residents can find their polling place on the Minnesota Secretary of State website Poll Finder at https://pollfinder.sos.state.mn.us, the precinct polling places as follows:
• Precinct 1 - Park Senior High School, 8040 80th Street S
• Precinct 2 - Cottage Grove Middle School, 9775 Indian Boulevard S
• Precinct 3 - Crestview Elementary School, 7830 80th Street S
• Precinct 4 - SoWashCo Schools District Service Center, 7362 E Point Douglas Road
• Precinct 5 - Washington County South Service Center, 13000 Ravine Parkway S
• Precinct 6 - MN National Guard Armory, 8180 Belden Boulevard S
• Precinct 7 - Pine Hill Elementary, 9015 Hadley Ave S
• Precinct 8 - Cottage Grove Elementary, 7447 65th Street S
As for the ballot candidates, there are many.
On the ballot unopposed for Cottage Grove Mayor is Myron Bailey (incumbent), with three council candidates (David Clausen, Justin Olsen, and Tony Khambata) vying for two council seats and a separate special election for council member on the ballot as well (Monique Garza).
In Newport, meanwhile, Mayor Laurie Elliot is running for re-election unopposed, while four candidates are on the ballot for two Newport council seats: Josh Schmidt, Paul Hansen, Brian Xiong, and Marvin Taylor.
St. Paul Park does not have municipal elections this year.
As for township races, Grey Cloud and Denmark both have candidates. Filed with the Minnesota Secretary of State are the following: Richard ‘Dick’ Polta (Grey Cloud Supervisor), Jakes Jones (Grey Cloud Supervisor), and Keshia Jones (Grey Cloud Treasurer). The candidates for Denmark Township are Peter J. Flock, John Strohfu, and Hassan Sahouani, all for Supervisor posts.
On the ballot at Woodbury for Council meanwhile there are eight names: Timothy Brewington, Temmy Olasimbo, Dave Hoelzel, Michael Burke, Donna Stafford, Kim Wilson, Murid Amini, and Benjamin Sherrard.
Of the eight names, two will ultimately advance to a council seat come November.
Woodbury will also have a city question, asking voters for a 0.5 percent sales and use tax to raise $50 million in funding for public safety campus improvements, with a maximum of 20 years imposed.
For county races, there is a county commissioner post. Contesting the District 3 County Commissioner seat are Bethany Cox and Mark Wiens.
As for state level offices on the ballot this year, Minnesota House District 41A will have Wayne Johnson (Republican) facing off with Lucia Wroblewski (Democratic-Farmer Labor), while in Minnesota House District 41B Tom Dippel (Republican) will face Jen Fox (Democratic-Farmer Labor). In House District 53B, incumbent Representative Rick Hansen (Democratic-Farmer Labor) will face Aaron M. Brooksby (Republican) for another term. The race for House District 47A will see Teresa Whiteson (Republican) contend with Amanda Hemmingsen-Jaeger (Democratic-Farmer Labor), while District 47B will see Dwight Dorau (Republican) contend with Ethan Cha (Democratic-Farmer Labor).
Seat 41A embraces north Cottage Grove, and an area along the St. Croix, while Seat 41B embraces Hastings and part of Cottage Grove. Seat 47A embraces much of Woodbury with Seat 47 B embracing the northwest portion of the city. Seat 53B embraces Newport, St. Paul Park, and Grey Cloud Island Township in Washington County.
As for federal offices, Donald J. Trump and J.D. Vance (Republican) are facing off with Kamala D. Harris and Tim Walz (Democratic-Farmer-Labor) for the Presidency, a host of third party candidates on the ballot as well.
Running for U.S. House District 2 are Angie Craig (Democratic-Farmer-Labor), Joe Teirab (Republican), and Thomas William Bowman (Constitutional Conservative).
The race for U.S. Senate is split four ways: Royce White (Republican), Amy Klobuchar (Democratic-Farmer-Labor), Rebecca Whiting (Libertarian), and Joyce Lynne Lacey (Independence-Alliance).
Also on the ballot this year are several judgeships, including chief justice and associate justices on the State Supreme Court.
As for ballot questions this were there are four of note in Cottage Grove: the first three belonging to the city’s parks initiative and the latter to a state constitutional amendment.
The three city questions are as follows: Hamlet Park (Question 1, yes or no on a 0.5 percent sales tax to raise $17,000,000); Mississippi Dunes Park (Question 2, yes or no on a 0.5 percent sales tax to raise $13,000,000); and River Oaks Golf Course (Question 3, yes or no on a 0.5 percent sales tax to raise $6,000,000).
Each question is yes/no as to possible responses. A simple majority is needed for each to pass.
The ballot question related to amending the state constitution reads as follows:

Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund Renewal
Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to protect drinking water sources and the water quality of lakes, rivers, and streams; conserve wildlife habitat and natural areas; improve air quality; and expand access to parks and trails by extending the transfer of proceeds from the state-operated lottery to the environment and natural resources trust fund, and to dedicate the proceeds for these purposes?
Voters may choose ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ with non-response counting the same as a ‘no.’