Last Tuesday, while addressing the Anoka County Board, Rhonda Sivarajah twice inadvertently referred to fellow Commissioner Dan Erhart as "Mr. Chairman." She's unlikely to make that mistake again come January.

Sivarajah, a fiscal conservative who had been in the minority on the board, will be its next chairwoman. In the Nov. 2 election, when five of the seven commissioner seats were on the ballot and three newcomers were elected, the board got a political nudge toward the right.

The selection of the board chair isn't official yet. But Commissioner-elect Andy Westerberg, who was considered the swing vote, called Sivarajah recently and confirmed that he would vote for her over longtime Commissioner Jim Kordiak.

"It's a reflection of voters across the state of Minnesota and across the country," Westerberg said of the recent conservative wave that modified the political landscape.

"People are being fiscally conservative and there's more belt tightening to be done on the county level. We're trying to be responsive to voters, showing that we're listening to what they are saying."

Sivarajah had the support of Robyn West and newly elected Matt Look, both fiscal conservatives. Erhart, a former chairman, tried to persuade Westerberg to align with Kordiak, who also counted on the support of Carol LeDoux, the third board newcomer.

LeDoux won a special election to succeed her husband, Scott, who is battling ALS and resigned as commissioner in May for health reasons. Because she is completing an unfinished term, she was sworn in and already has begun her commissioner's duties.

Look and Westerberg will not be sworn in until January. They'll succeed Dennis Berg, the current chairman, and veteran commissioner Dick Lang, who are retiring from the board at the end of the year.

Berg said he was not surprised that the board was in a hurry to select a new leader, but "I was [caught] off guard that Andy threw his support to Rhonda," he said. "I outlined to him that you are the swing vote. I didn't think he'd make his decision this quickly."

Westerberg considered running for chairman himself. But the former state legislator and current Metropolitan Airports Commission member said it's critical that he focus on his new responsibilities in county government.

"The chair should be the face of the commission," said Westerberg, who will be stepping down from his airports commission post. "Right now, considering who's on the board and the way voters feel, that face belongs to Rhonda."

Sivarajah will become only the second woman to chair the Anoka County Board. Margaret Langfeld, who succeeded Erhart, retired from the board in 2006.

Weathering the storm

When ice coated Minnesota's highways a week ago, endangering motorists, Anoka County crews were ready to go -- dumping an estimated $85,000 in salt on county roads.

"Freezing rains are the worst," said County Engineer Doug Fischer. "Unlike snow, which takes time to accumulate, freezing rain can coat a surface in five minutes. And it's constant."

Fischer said that a normal snow costs the county $42,670 in salt over a 24-hour period. But peppering roads with salt during a freezing rain costs it an estimated $64,005 to $85,340 over 24 hours, Fischer said.

"That's money. These guys are spreading money on the road," Fischer said. "We're very judicious with our salt application."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419