Ben Whalen has won Tuesday's special election for the Third Ward seat of the Richfield City Council.
Whalen, 27, is director of youth ministry and community engagement at House of Prayer Lutheran Church. He's also co-leader of the Richfield Community Housing Team and administrator for the Richfield Social Justice Community.
Before the election, he said he wanted citizens to have a more active role in making decisions that shape the city. He wanted to start an e-mail newsletter in the ward and hold quarterly forums where citizens could share ideas and concerns. When considering geographically specific projects, he suggested officials could even knock on doors.
"Communications between the city and residents could really stand to improve," he said. "There's no reason not to knock on everyone's doors and talk to them."
Whalen defeated Judy Moe and Ben Sunderlin for the seat, which opened when Maria Regan Gonzalez was elected mayor of Richfield in November.
Moe, 47, is on the staff at Fraser and is co-founder of the Richfield Advocacy Disability Partnership. Sunderlin, 43, is regulatory affairs and quality assurance manager for LifeHealth, a medical device firm.
Katy Read • 612-673-4583
