A crowded ballot: 22 running for Woodbury city races

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Woodbury voters will pick from 22 names on the general election ballot -- and those are just the candidates in city races.

A two-week filing period ended Tuesday with an astounding 23 candidates signed up to run for mayor or city council. One mayoral candidate backed out Wednesday.

Still, that level of interest is rare; local races typically only attract several candidates, and certainly not nearly two-dozen.

Seven people filed for mayor, but there were six after a withdrawal Thursday. Another 16 signed up to run for two at-large city council seats that will appear on the Nov. 2 ballot.

By comparison: Six people sought two city council seats in 2008, and five people competed for two city council seats in 2006.

This year's candidate turnout is the largest in at least a decade, City Clerk Kim Blaeser said.

Candidates have until Thursday afternoon to pull their names if they back out. There is no city primary election, so all candidates left standing after Thursday will be on the ballot in November.

Strong interest in the mayor's race may be tied to the fact that Woodbury will have its first open mayor's race in nearly 20 years. Mayor Bill Hargis is not seeking re-election this year. He has served since 1993. He is only the fourth mayor in city history.

The following candidates filed to run for mayor:

-- Mary Giuliani Stephens, 1233 Shannon Court

-- Rachel Homuth, 1395 Larkspur Court

-- Nicholas Kiecker, 6399 Aspenwood Plaza

-- Eddie Marcus, 7017 Courtly Road

-- Art McCloskey, 9136 Pinehurst Road

-- William “Tom” Owens, 9418 Knighton Road

Earl Reinhardt, 7730 Military Road, had filed for mayor, but withdrew his name.

Stephens is wrapping up her first term on the city council, and her seat is one of two up for grabs in the November election. The other city council seat on the ballot is held by Julie Ohs, 577 Eagle Drive, who filed for re-election to seek a second four-year term.

The other 15 city council candidates are:

-- Ross Altendorfer, 2648 Brittany Lane

-- Christopher Burns, 3611 Dakota Ave.

-- David Dobson Jr., 11035 Sweetwater Path

-- Jane Green, 11359 Beechwood Lane

-- Alice Gruber, 3005 Leyland Trail

-- Jeremy Jenkins, 8630 Quarry Ridge Lane F

-- Robert Mehling, 6828 Thames Road

-- Nicholas Ortiz, 607D Woodduck Drive

-- Steven P. Peterson, 594 Sutherland Drive

-- Don Place, 4305 Dorchester Court

-- Jon Rusten, 3201 Frontier Drive

-- Jennifer Santini, 8512 Savanna Oaks Lane

-- Jennifer Sutch, 1825 Bielenberg Drive

-- Mark Wackerfuss, 883 Meadow Lane

-- Daryl Wahl, 3850 Jamestown Curve

The city council decides the annual budget for city operations, sets the property tax levy, directs spending for major municipal construction projects, approves private development plans and has other authority.

The mayor earns $8,520 a year and leads the five-member city council. The four city council members each earn $6,450 annually.

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