ST. CLOUD — A longtime St. Cloud City Council member announced Tuesday that she plans to run for the open mayor seat in November.
Carol Lewis, 67, is nearing the end of her third term on the council. She’s one of three at-large members who represent the entire central Minnesota city of about 70,000 people, along with four council members elected by residents in their wards.
But instead of running for a fourth term, Lewis will campaign to fill the seat now occupied by Mayor Dave Kleis, who announced last week he will not run for a sixth term this fall.
“What I offer the community is experience and a sense of stability, especially in terms of this general election,” Lewis said. “There’s probably going to be a bunch of uncertainty, I think, on people’s minds so my goal is to present a stable option.”
Lewis graduated from St. Cloud Technical High School and earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from St. Cloud State University. She then earned her juris doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline) and works an an attorney helping clients navigate social security disability insurance.
Prior to joining the council, Lewis served two terms on St. Cloud’s school board. She currently serves on boards for the city’s Housing and Redevelopment Authority and Whitney Senior Center, and she is a member of St. Cloud’s Kiwanis Club.
Lewis said her dozen years on the council give her a unique insight into city issues and the mayor’s role. St. Cloud is one of just four cities in the state with a strong-mayor system, where the mayor acts as a chief executive and the council as a legislative body.
“Unless you’re following very closely, you don’t really get exposed to all the various issues that arise in a city,” she said. “It’s the mayor’s responsibility to shepherd a bunch of that through. I’ve been through a lot of the controversial issues that come before the council.”