Two Harbors voters pick top candidates for mayor after ousting Chris Swanson

DULUTH — Voters in Two Harbors narrowed the field for new leadership during Tuesday's special election to replace former Mayor Chris Swanson, a controversial figure who was easily ousted by frustrated residents in August.

Robin M. Glaser and Lew Conner advanced to the April 11 general election. The term runs to January 2025. City Council President Ben Redden has been the interim mayor for the past six months.

Glaser, a Two Harbors native who received 289 of the 508 votes, served as mayor for two terms, from 2001-2008. She has been a City Council member on and off since 1993 and just completed a cycle as council president. She has been chair coordinator atLake View Medical Clinic in Two Harbors for 34 years.

Last year was extremely difficult for the City Council, she said Wednesday.

"I just wanted to make sure we had somebody who was knowledgeable and understanding of what the council has been through and where we hope to go," she said. "To have someone brand new — it gave me great angst.

"We've been through so much. We needed some normal."

Conner is president of the North Shore Rotary Club and on the board of directors for North Shore Horizons, a nonprofit supporting victims of domestic and sexual assault. He moved to Two Harbors in 2020. According to his campaign website, he is interested in transparency and building a community for locals while considering the economic impact of tourists.

Swanson first gained attention for the town of 3,500 on the north shore of Lake Superior when he proposed building an underwater hotel in the bay while on an episode of a podcast hosted by a "reclusive billionaire" who goes by "Mr. O." Two Harbors City Attorney Tim Costley, citing that podcast episode, a New York Times story about "crypto mayors" that quoted Swanson, and Swanson's then-prolific Twitter feed, offered the written opinion that Swanson had used his role for personal gain and violated the city's communication policies.

The State Auditor's Office, after its own investigation, agreed with the city attorney's conclusion.

Some residents forged the grassroots campaign Resign and Recall to initiate a change in leadership. The group gathered enough signatures to get the recall question on the primary election ballot. Swanson faced calls to resign before the vote but refused.

As this was unfolding, a long-silent family came forward with information about how their daughter was sexually assaulted by a teenaged Swanson when she was 5 years old — and Swanson admitted to serving probation for it.