Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz won her reelection bid Tuesday night in a vote that many saw as a referendum on redevelopment efforts in the city's downtown.
Challenger Jerry Willenburg came out of September's primary election with a handful more votes, but Kautz prevailed by a margin of more than 2,000 voters.
Kautz, the city's leader since 1994 and next year's president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, has drawn fire from critics for promoting a publicly financed performing arts center. The $20 million arts center is under construction in the Heart of the City, an urban-style downtown that Kautz and other city leaders have spent years revitalizing.
Willenburg and other detractors have accused the city of stifling critical voices, but Kautz and the city have defended their decisions and said their work will bolster the local tax base.
The outlook for at least three other south-metro mayors was less than triumphant. Farmington Mayor Kevan Soderberg, who had initially said he would not seek reelection because of a new job, lost to planning commission member Todd Larson. Belle Plaine Mayor Tom Meger was ousted by Brad Krick, who won 62 percent of the vote. Jordan Mayor Ron Jabs also lost his seat.
Two City Council newcomers were the winners of a circus of a municipal race in Rosemount, where a whopping 25 candidates competed for office. Kurt Bills, an economics teacher at Rosemount High School, and Jeff Weisensel, a former member of the city's planning commission, won by comfortable margins.
A 26th candidate, incumbent Mike Baxter, appeared on the ballot but withdrew from the race after Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed him a Le Sueur County judge last month.
Council races in Rosemount have drawn just four or five contenders in recent years, and this year's election did not have a primary. The unexpected deluge of contenders prompted the organizers of a candidate forum last month to resort to a speed-dating-style format.
