Lang won't seek reelection to Anoka Co. board

Dick Lang, a five-term Anoka County commissioner, said this morning that he's dropping out of the race to keep his county board seat, due to family health concerns.

"It pains me to do this," said Lang, 70. "But the pressure of family health problems was too much.

"When I woke up this morning, I knew this was the only decision. It didn't come easily."

Five other candidates have filed for a seat Lang's held, on and off, for much of three decades. They are former state Rep. Andy Westerberg; former Ham Lake City Council Member Jolynn Erikson; Ham Lake Council Member and former Mayor Gary Kirkeide; state Sen. Debbie Johnson, a 10-year veteran of the Legislature, and Erik Evenson.

At least one of the candidates, Westerberg, said earlier this week that he'd heard Lang might withdraw.

"My dropping out has nothing to do with the race," Lang said. "I have no doubt that I would have been reelected."

Lang garnered 59 percent of the vote when he was reelected in 2006.

"We've worked hard to achieve a Triple A bonding rating. We're in much better shape than most counties. We're trying to steady the course and I'd hate to see all that disappear."

Lang said Wednesday that withdrawing would be "a sad thing."

He was noncommittal for weeks about whether he would run for reelection before he did file as a candidate, and he again was playing wait-and-see this week. But as the person who has often been the fourth and deciding vote on the seven-member board when it comes to passing resolutions, Lang is a master at keeping them guessing.

He kisses pigs (to raise money for 4-H), talks to flowers and has said that if he'd been reelected, he would have settled for $1 as salary, rather than the $60,000 that goes with the job, "because they'll force me to take something."

The captain of his St. Cloud State football team and a former Marine, Lang became an assistant youth football line coach five years ago.

"I've prepared for years to do this. Why not do it?"

Five County Board seats are up for grabs in this year's election. The seats belonging to incumbents Robyn West and Jim Kordiak also are being contested -- as are LeDoux's and Berg's. Only the seats held by Rhonda Sivarajah and Dan Erhart aren't on the ballot.