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Saturday, September 6, 2008
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Come out swinging BRAINERD CITY COUNCIL Staff Writer Ed Shaw, a Brainerd attorney, filed Friday for the Brainerd City Council, Ward 1, and used his filing statement to immediately take a shot at incumbent Lucy Nesheim.
Shaw, 42, previously ran unsuccessfully for a Ward 1 council seat in 2002 against Kelly Bevans and again in 2004 in Ward 1 against Nesheim. Nesheim is seeking re-election to the council.
Shaw said as a business owner and resident of Ward 1, his main reason for running for city council was because he believes the city is falling behind and is not doing anything to attract residents or businesses.
"We're essentially stagnant and a big part of that problem is the ol' boy network at city hall," said Shaw. "I'm doing this because I don't like the direction the city is going in and I've talked to people and they're concerned that we're stagnant and not going anywhere. We want people to see Brainerd as an innovative community and, frankly, we've become something of a joke and I want to change that."
Shaw said he is running against Nesheim because she's been in office for 20 years and it's time for a change.
"I am running because Mrs. Nesheim has wasted our tax dollars, helped her friends in city hall at taxpayer expense and has done nothing to move Brainerd ahead," Shaw said. "She has been in office for 20 years, during that time taxes have gone up, businesses have left, streets have deteriorated and our reputation has gone downhill."
Shaw criticized Nesheim for voting to give the mayor $2,948 in taxpayer money for a trip to visit Brainerd's sister city in Sweden. He also charged that Nesheim voted to purchase "thousands of dollars of gasoline at inflated prices" from fellow council member Kelly Bevans before his station went out of business, when Shaw said gas could have been purchased for less at government wholesale rates.
When contacted by the Dispatch, Nesheim's response was that she voted for the funds for Mayor James Wallin's trip to Sweden because it was a cultural exchange that benefited the city, which has been part of that sister city program for 20 years. She said there have been delegations from Sweden who visited Brainerd at least a half-dozen times. She said the cost for the mayor's trip could be broken down to 21 cents per Brainerd resident, or about a penny per year of the program.
"If he feels he would like a refund on his 21 cents for the mayor's trip, I'd be happy to give it to him," Nesheim said of Shaw.
Nesheim said there were several reasons she and other council members voted to purchase gasoline in Brainerd, including that the city would have been charged a 10 percent administrative fee, along with a capital reimbursement fee, if it would have purchased wholesale gasoline from the county.
"I'm proud of the many things we've accomplished over the years," said Nesheim. "I think if he's concerned about the appearance of the city he should start with his own front yard. We could have sent the mayor to Sweden five times for what it cost to get Ed to cut his hedges."
Nesheim was referring to the lawsuit filed by Shaw against the city in Crow Wing District Court in 2006 after the city ordered the hedges around Shaw's office building at the corner of South Sixth and Quince streets trimmed or removed because it was a traffic hazard. Shaw argued that the council's order was inconsistent and its decision was arbitrary and capricious, according to a Dispatch article. Nesheim said the city won the litigation.
Shaw said, if elected, his first step would be to propose a new conflict of interest rule that would prevent council members from voting on issues that benefit themselves or their families. He said he also would oppose the use of city funds for city travel unless it was absolutely necessary for city business.
Shaw also said he would support the adoption of a policy to save energy and taxpayer money by increasing energy efficiency in city vehicles and buildings. He said he'll also support innovative, cost-effective ways to make the city a cleaner, better place to work.
"Everyone else is looking at ways to save money and our city needs to do that as well," said Shaw.
Shaw, who is single, has been an attorney in Brainerd since 1995 and has had his own business since 1996.
Filings for Brainerd City Council close at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
JODIE TWEED may be reached at jodie.tweed@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5858.
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