Election recount shows Hopkins City Council race decided by two votes

A recount Monday of a Hopkins City Council race doubled the size of winning candidate Benjamin Goodlund's lead — from one vote to two.

Hopkins elections officials recounted the tight race for the council seat at the request of Aaron Kuznia, who was just one vote behind Goodlund on election night. The council is set to certify the results of the recount Tuesday, finalizing the vote of 886 for Goodlund and 884 for Kuznia.

"Never in my wildest dreams could I have predicted this outcome," Goodlund wrote on Facebook after the results were announced. "I remain humbled and grateful beyond words to my family and the voters of Hopkins."

But Goodlund also faced questions Monday about an order for protection that his mother had filed against him early this year — a topic that had swirled on social media over the weekend.

A resident who had supported council candidates not involved in the recount posted a pair of police reports involving the situation Friday.

Goodlund said Monday that the order was no longer in place and the issue, which involved a "mental health crisis" by his mother, had been resolved.

The postings on Facebook and Nextdoor had made some commenters wonder if there was an option to prevent Goodlund, 37, from joining the council.

Others urged empathy or said they wanted to give Goodlund a chance on the council.

According to the police reports, verified Monday by the Star Tribune, Goodlund's mother, Judith Goodlund, 76, called Hopkins police in February saying her son had become aggressive — cursing at her, berating her in the middle of the night about attending a play with him — and she wanted him to move out. The son's actions did not meet a criminal threshold at the time, the police report said, and officers advised that she could try a civil remedy.

Just over two weeks later, according to another Hopkins police report, Judith Goodlund filed for an order for protection against Benjamin Goodlund.

Asked about the order during the recount Monday morning, Benjamin Goodlund said the order was no longer in place.

He called the posting of the police report an attack by "political mudslingers."

Benjamin Goodlund emailed the Star Tribune both his statement and his mother's, which she read when reached by phone Monday.

"I don't think it's relevant to bring up a situation where I was in a moment of physical and mental crisis to exploit for political gain," Judith Goodlund said. "I love my son and support him, and the people of Hopkins are going to reject these gutter politics."

She declined to say anything further.

Other police reports from last month — stemming from calls Goodlund made to police about missing campaign signs — showed Goodlund still lives at his mother's address.

James Warden, the resident who posted the report on social media, also posted about his support for Brian Hunke, the council member who received the most votes and was re-elected, and Alan Beck, an incumbent council candidate who trailed Goodlund and Kuznia by more than 100 votes. Warden said he filed a records request with the police department after the election, having heard rumors just a day before the election about Goodlund having contact with police. Warden said he is a former journalist, and wanted to know the truth behind social media rumors.

Warden said he had not anticipated his request would turn up the reports about Goodlund's dispute with his mother, but said he thought the episode said something about the way Goodlund handles conflict.