Glen Anderson is running for mayor in the upcoming October 20th St. Paul Municipal Election.
Q1: What are the biggest needs you’re hearing form residents in the community, and how would you work to address them if elected mayor?
“That’s a pretty simple question, because people are speaking loud and clear as I go door to door. They’re saying taxes are way too high, and they’re giving me evidence of it. They’re telling me what their taxes were and what they are now. It’s taxes, communication, and increases to water and sewer rates. They doubled, and they’re increasing them again November 1. Some have said the franchise fee on utilities also went up, which hadn’t been touched for decades. People are telling me, ‘we’re tapped out.’”
“The way to fix it is you have to use taxpayers’ dollars effectively and efficiently, and that means making tough choices. Long term, I think regionalization has to be on the table. St. Paul, the County, Elk Point—together we’re under 14,000 people with 19 elected officials. That doesn’t make sense. We need to talk about becoming one community, because we can’t do it on our own. People already use the same services, but right now we’re competing against each other for the same grants. The only way forward is working together.”
Q2: What motivate you to step forward and run for mayor?
“I want people to be responsible for their actions and the council. You serve the people, and with tax increase after tax increase, I don’t think we’re doing justice to them. I’ve been there before, I know the feeling, and I think I can make a difference. That’s why I want to do it again.”
Q3: What do you see as the most important opportunities for St. Paul in the next four years, and how would you help the town take advantage of them?
“When you have such a high tax base, it drives people away. If you’re looking at houses and one town has $7,000 in taxes compared to $2,500 down the road, people won’t choose St. Paul. The same goes for businesses—high taxes make it hard to succeed, because it all comes off the bottom line. Rent goes up, costs go up, and people look elsewhere. Right now, we’re not competitive in the marketplace.”
“If regionalization happened and we got our house in order, we could become business friendly again. St. Paul is off the beaten trail, so we have to work harder to sell ourselves. That means being economically feasible and creative in how we do business. It starts with getting our fiscal house in order so people can feel confident about investing here.”
Q4: St. Paul continues to grow and face new pressures. What is your vision for balancing infrastructure demands with affordability for residents?
“Infrastructure is not cheap. Years ago, we replaced cast iron water lines with PVC when it was affordable, but today those costs are much higher. For example, a subdivision east of Glen Avon would have cost about $3.5 million eight years ago. Today it’s closer to $10 million. That’s the reality small communities face.”
“We can’t keep raising taxes to cover these costs. We need serious discussions about working together as a region, because towns like St. Paul can’t do it alone. People are already moving to the county but still using town services. That’s why councils need to put differences aside and listen to residents who are saying they can’t handle the taxes anymore. Short term, we need to spend effectively and efficiently. Long term, we need to look at regionalization to make sure St. Paul and the surrounding area have a sustainable future.”
