In a crossroads election in Eden Prairie, one incumbent won and one was ousted by a former city council member as voters split on the issue of whether to emphasize spending controls.
Incumbent Brad Aho was the leading vote-getter and former council member Ron Case finished second in the race for two at large council seats. Both had 30 percent of the vote. The other incumbent, Sherry Butcher, had 28 percent, while Jeffrey Meyerhofer netted 12 percent.
Aho and Meyerhofer had contended that the city must limit spending, while Butcher and Case talked more about keeping the city's quality of life high by listening to residents' desires about historic preservation and the arts. Case was the runner-up in the last Eden Prairie mayoral election.
With Aho winning, he, Mayor Phil Young and Jon Duckstad, both tax-conscious, Republican-endorsed council members, remain in control of the council.
In Edina, Mayor Jim Hovland, a council member for 12 years and mayor for the past four, handily beat back a challenge from Daniel Azar, a general contractor. He claimed 74 percent of the vote.
Six candidates, including five newcomers, competed for two at-large council seats: incumbent Ann Swenson with 29 percent of the vote and Mary Brindle with 22 percent were the top vote-getters.
Former Plymouth Mayor Judy Johnson, who lost a tight race for state senator in 2006 against DFL Sen. Terri Bonoff, won the Ward 1 council seat with 80 percent of the vote in a race against David Miller and Daniel Hendrickson. The council member who has held that seat, Sandy Hewitt, was not seeking reelection.
In Spring Park, Council Member Sarah Reinhardt won the battle to succeed longtime Mayor Jerry Rockvam, who is retiring after serving in office for 35 years. She took 40 percent of the vote to 36 percent for Council Member Tom Scanlon.
In Medina, incumbent Tom Crosby took 55 percent of the vote in defeating former Mayor Bruce Workman in a reprise of the 2006 election.
Laurie Blake • 612-673-1711
