The Crookston Area Chamber held its Candidate Forum on Tuesday night to allow the public to hear from the current candidates for the open spots for the Crookston Public School Board, Crookston City Council, Polk County Commissioners, State Representative District 1B, and State Senator District 1. The forum was moderated by Crookston Area Chamber Executive Director Mark Landa and Monica Custritz of the University of Minnesota Crookston. The forum had the candidates introduce themselves to the audience and answer two questions submitted by the public, then give a closing statement to the public. The forum was moderated by Crookston Area Chamber Executive Director Mark Landa and Monica Custritz of the University of Minnesota Crookston. The forum had the candidates introduce themselves to the audience and answer two questions submitted by the public, then give a closing statement to the public.
The candidates for the Crookston Mayor are incumbent Dale Stainbrook, and his opponent is current City Council Ward 3 member Clayton Briggs. We asked each candidate to introduce themselves and tell us what they hoped to do if elected as the mayor of Crookston.
Q: Would you please tell us about yourself?
Dale: When I was appointed mayor by the council, I came into a very difficult situation, the council was somewhat divided, and I feel that somewhat over time, we have mended those discords, and I have worked with a couple of council members. We have a code of conduct that we follow. We also brought in the League of Minnesota to help the council and myself as far as what the role is in being a council member. We’ve had many changes over the last few years, from City Administrator to Department Heads, there is a new Economic Development Director, and we all want what is best for the city of Crookston and to move our city forward. I want to say that going from City Council member to mayor, there is a learning curve, and being your mayor since February 2020, the council and our leadership team is in a better place.
Clayton: I’m Clayton Briggs, seeking the mayor’s position. I was born and raised in Crookston, attended school in Crookston, and have been married for 48 years to my wife, Mary. I’ve served with the Crookston Police Department for 16 years. During that time as a police officer, I served as a school resource officer for the school district. I’ve spent eight years on the City Council, serving Ward 3 as their Council Member, served three years as Vice Mayor, and am currently employed by the Crookston School District as a bus driver.
Q: What are you hoping to accomplish if you are elected mayor?
Dale: I think the big thing right now is that we have very good leadership in Crookston. We have a City Administrator that’s spot on, which we need. There was a question mark whether what we were going to do when Amy left, and it’s very fortunate that “Corky” stepped up to the plate, and we’re fortunate because he’s also an attorney, so he can do ordinances and resolutions, which doesn’t cost us a lot of money, and our current City Attorney looks them over. I think our Economic Development Director is second to none. She’s going to be a rockstar. She’s getting her feet wet right now, but hopefully, in the near future, we’ll have an opportunity to sit down with her as council and the mayor and have a mini strategy session with this current council. If elected, I would like to have one in early spring to see what the priorities of the council are and move forward. Let’s not always shoot for the low-hanging fruit. Let’s reach for the stars.
Clayton: I would like to see more communication with the public, as far as trying to get them to be more welcome to come to council meetings and discuss things with us so that we know what the city wants.
Pictures of the candidates and the live stream of the forum can be found below-
