Bruce Sanders stepped down from the Coon Rapids City Council recently, but he may well make another run in November for the seat he just vacated.
Sanders, an eight-year council member, resigned late last month, just before retiring from his full-time job as city assessor for Maple Grove, because continuing in the council position would have prevented him from collecting his pension.
"I regret that I had to do that," he said. "It was really painful."
But he hopes the pain is short-lived.
All that was preventing Sanders from serving on the council were the contributions he was making from his Coon Rapids council salary to the Public Employees' Retirement Association (PERA). He could not opt out of the retirement plan while he's drawing a salary; his only option was to quit the council.
He timed his resignation to allow a 30-day window before the June 1 filing deadline to run again in November.
On Tuesday, the Coon Rapids City Council was set to declare a vacancy in their ranks. The action clears the way for a new member to be appointed for the remainder of Sanders' term.
The vacancy could have been filled through a special election, but there was no support for that solution at last week's special workshop because of the cost, which could add up to as much as $10,000, and still would come just before the general election in November. The council also decided against leaving the seat vacant.
