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FAIRMONT-- One task residents of Fairmont will face on the Nov. 8 election is selecting a new mayor. Charles Pearson and Lee Baarts are running to fill the role vacated by Deb Foster, who is not running for mayor this term. Foster has held the role of mayor since 2016.
According to the city charter, the mayor shall be elected for a term of four years and shall be elected by and from the electors of the city at large. The mayor shall be a member of the city council, but shall only have a vote as a member of the council in case of a tie. The mayor shall preside at meetings of the council and shall exercise all powers and shall perform all duties conferred and imposed upon him/her by this charter, the ordinances of the city and the laws of the state.
While originally from Rochester, Pearson was transferred to Fairmont for his work with the National Cash Register (NCR), which he retired from in 1990.
Pearson has been involved in a number of activities in the community, including Civic Summer Theater through The Fairmont Opera House. He has driven for the Fairmont Transit Bus and currently drives Minnesota Motor Bus as a school bus driver.
Baarts was born in Fairmont and grew up nearby in Northrop. He went to elementary school at St. James Lutheran School though 8th grade before attending Fairmont High School through graduation.
Out of high school, Baarts began working for his family business, Baarts Trucking, Inc., in Truman. He moved to Lewisville and lived there until 2018, at which point he moved to Fairmont.
He has three children who have all attended Fairmont Area Schools. While they were growing up, Baarts was active in coaching youth sports including football, basketball and baseball. Now he officiates both high school and youth sports.
As for what prompted each candidate to file for mayor, Pearson said he became interested in the position after no one else applied. He said he's interested in the growth of Fairmont and keeping costs down for the citizens.
Baarts said after moving to and becoming a resident of Fairmont, he started paying attention to all that Fairmont has to offer. However he also said he learned of all of the controversy going on.
"So I started thinking about what I could do to help. Should I join a committee, run for office, or what? I looked online to see what the duties of a mayor would be," Baarts explained.
He noted that the mayor is the face of Fairmont and its job is to listen to the people, which includes visiting and listening to business owners both old and new.
Each candidate shared how they would go about serving as a mediator among the city council.
"The mayor has to keep meetings on track and hopefully help council with decisions. The mayor has to be a representative for Fairmont," Pearson said.
While Baarts admitted that the thought of running council meetings makes him nervous, he said he's been learning Roberts Rules in order to assist him.
"The citizens of Fairmont deserve a mayor and council that works for them, that is why they elected us. We need to "fill in the trench" we have between us and work on things together. We are not always going to agree but we need to do things for the people of Fairmont to make it grow and prosper again," Baarts said.
A candidate forum spotlighting these candidates, as well as those running for other open positions, will be held between 6 and 8 p.m. on Oct. 26 and 27 in council chambers at City Hall. It will also be broadcast live on local public access channel 13.