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BRAINERD — Leonard Skillings will no longer be campaigning for a seat on the Brainerd City Council.
Skillings announced the decision Tuesday, July 19, after the council appointed Jamie Bieser to fill the Ward 1 seat where there is a vacancy and which will be on the ballot for a two-year term.
Dave Pritschet resigned the seat earlier this year, creating the need for the council to fill the vacancy through the rest of the year and have a special election for the remaining two years of the term.
Three candidates applied for the seat and filed to run for the opening. Five of the six council members voted Monday, July 18, to appoint Bieser to the seat, while one member voted for Kara Terry.
Skillings said he expected to get at least one vote during the process but ultimately believes the council’s decision was a message to him.
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“I think they made a good choice,” he said of Bieser, who he now plans to support in the election after learning more about him.
Because the withdrawal period ended June 2 — two days after filing closed — Skillings’ name will still appear on the ballot for the primary race Aug. 9. The top two vote-getters in the primary will move on to the general election Nov. 8.
THERESA BOURKE may be reached at theresa.bourke@brainerddispatch.com or 218-855-5860. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DispatchTheresa .
