ST. CLOUD – An official in his second term on the St. Cloud City Council is planning to run for the open mayor seat in November.
Mike Conway, 58, was first elected in 2018 to represent Ward 4, which covers much of the city’s south side including the new Tech High School. He was re-elected in 2022 with about 60% of the vote.
Conway said Tuesday the timing feels right for him to run to fill the seat now occupied by Mayor Dave Kleis, who announced last month he would not run for a sixth term this fall.
“I feel I have spent enough time on the council to understand how the city functions,” Conway said. “I feel I have a very good understanding of how the city operates, what things the city should be involved in and what things the city really needs to rely on the county and the state to provide.”
Conway is the third person to announce plans to run for mayor, which could trigger a primary election in August. The candidate filing period for the November election runs from May 21 to June 4. In St. Cloud, the mayor and three at-large seats are up for election. All seats are nonpartisan.
Anne Buckvold, a therapist and community organizer, and Carol Lewis, a longtime City Council member, have also recently announced plans to run for mayor.
Conway said a city’s most important priorities are public safety: maintaining quality police and fire departments, as well as maintaining infrastructure such as water mains, wastewater facilities and roads. He said he would continue Kleis’ focus on keeping a tight budget but also look for ways to boost new development.
“I want to be fiscally conservative — being a good steward of the people’s money,” he said. “But think I might be a little more aggressive in helping promote more opportunities for business and finding ways the city can incentivize growth.”
