Thompson and Erickson win Prior Lake City Council positions

Prior Lake American

Prior Lake City Council incumbent Annette Thompson and previous council member Warren Erickson won two open seats over David Tieman in Tuesday’s election.

Prior Lake City Council

The incumbent in the city council election took most of the votes as well — Thompson received 7,210 votes, or nearly 43 percent of the vote. She was followed by Erickson who received 4,810 votes. Tieman lost narrowly with 4,748 votes.

Thompson has lived in Prior Lake for 33 years with her husband, Scott. She is a full-time city councilor after retiring from 33 years in information technology work.

In her position on the council, Thompson has opposed the proposed tax levy increase of 6.7 percent. Thompson also voted against hiring a consultant firm in August to search for the next city manager, stating that she would have preferred to conduct an internal search first.

Thompson supported the land annexations from Credit River Township and Spring Lake Township — land which could be used for industrial or commercial development in Prior Lake.

Erickson has lived in Prior Lake for 30 years. He has one daughter and four grandchildren. Erickson is retired but has been a volunteer at the last five Olympic games and plans to volunteer at the 2020 games in Tokyo. He said he thanked Prior Lake voters for having confidence in him.

“I really think that any three of us could have represented the city well,” Erickson said in an interview. “The focus would be, one, economic development and how we can continue to find good opportunities for Prior Lake that fit within our environment, businesses that fit in well with Prior Lake. And then from there, I think, smart growth — look at how we’re going to grow and how we do it in an intelligent way so we do it with an eye to the future.”

Erickson served on the council from 2005 to 2012.

Both candidates said they would want to maintain the “small-town feel” of Prior Lake while promoting commercial growth in the city.

“We have nearby communities that offer good access to big box stores and retailing,” Thompson wrote in a candidate Q&A response. “I promote small to medium-size business and commercial development in industrial parks and the recently annexed land from Credit River Township, around downtown and the existing shopping centers.”

Besides growth, Erickson said the biggest issue facing Prior Lake is safety including distracted driving, domestic violence, drug abuse and bullying.

“These issues aren’t contained to schools or selected areas of our community, they affect everyone,” Erickson said. “I want to work collaboratively with police, firefighters, county and citizen groups for a better Prior Lake.”

Thompson pointed to the rising cost of road projects, equipment and personnel costs as among her chief concerns.

“Residents are usually focused on the tax levy, but what about fees, water and sewer, and debt?” Thompson said. “As an elected official, this is my biggest challenge, but I am passionate about it.”

Both candidates said they would listen attentively to residents’ concerns and respond with appropriate actions.

“If unable to provide direct assistance and if appropriate, I will work to find someone who can,” Erickson said.

Thompson will return to her seat on the council, while Erickson will take the seat of outgoing council member Mike McGuire. McGuire did not run for re-election.