City primary elections are on Tuesday

Bloomington, Minnetonka and St. Louis Park will hold primary elections on Tuesday to narrow the field for City Council elections in November.

For each council seat, the two candidates who get the most primary votes will advance to the general election on Nov. 5.

An unusual passing of the municipal torch has 18 people competing for five Bloomington City Council seats, with only two incumbents running for re-election. Even if those incumbents hold their seats, three of the seven council members in Bloomington next year will be newcomers.

Departing with a collective 42 years of council experience are incumbents Karen Nordstrom, who holds an at-large seat, District 1 Council Member Steve Peterson and District 4 Council Member Vern Wilcox.

Competing for Nordstrom's at-large seat are Cynthia Bemis Abrams, Zavier Bicott and Carol Wagner. In District 3, incumbent Jack Baloga is running along with Russ Burnison, Steve Peer, Ryan Reetz and William Reichert. Running in District 4 are Ken Johnson, Sally Ness and Jon Oleson.

All of those seats have four-year terms that end in 2017.

The two remaining council seats are for two-year terms that expire at the end of 2015. In District I, Richard Bohnen, Robert Chamberlain, Dwayne A. Lowman and Marcus L. Page are running.

The League of Women Voters has filmed interviews with council candidates. They can be seen at: http://www.startribune.com/a2407.

For information on how and where to vote, go to: http://www.startribune.com/a2408.

In Minnetonka, eight people are running for three seats are on the ballot, including Mayor Terry Schneider.

But the only race with more than two people running is one of the two council positions. Incumbent Patty Acomb, who was elected in 2012 to fill a midterm vacancy for one of two at-large seats, is being challenged by residents Brian Grogan, Dan Martin and Rick Ranta.

Go to http://bit.ly/12CwXqJ for polling information.

The only City Council seat with a primary election is the Ward 3 seat, held by incumbent Sue Santa, who is seeking re-election. Kandi S. Arries and Gregg Lindberg are also running.

A video of a candidates forum is on the city website at http://www.stlouispark.org/.

For information on how and where to vote, go to http://www.stlouispark.org/elections.html.

smetan@startribune.com • 612-673-7380 kelly.smith@startribune.com • 612-673-4141