Businesswoman joins Mitchell mayoral field, running total to six

• Becky Haslam

Becky Haslam

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• Without runoff, low vote total likely for Mitchell's next mayor

And then there were six.

Another prospective candidate has joined the other five who are seeking to become Mitchell’s next mayor.

Becky Haslam picked up petitions Monday. She has until March 27 to file the petitions, which must have at least 50 valid signatures from registered Mitchell voters. The election is June 5.

Haslam, 40, ran for the District 20 state House seat in the 2010 election. She intended to run as a Democrat but a filing error led to her running as an independent.

She finished third behind Republicans Lance Carson and Tona Rozum, who won the two House seats.

“I grew up in Mitchell, and I like running for mayor more than I did for the House,” Haslam said Wednesday. “Mitchell is a great place.”

But she said the town has grown “stagnant” and needs to grow, with the population increasing and downtown filled with successful businesses.

Haslam works as a youth supervisor at Our Home Inc., a facility for at-risk youth in Parkston. She and her husband Martin met when they were in the Army and have been married 18 years. They have one son, Cameron, who is 13.

The other five mayoral candidates, who have all filed their petitions, are City Councilman Ken Tracy, Davison County Commissioner John Claggett, former councilman Jerry Toomey, Tara Volesky and Roger Haley.

Mayor Lou Sebert has said he will not seek a third term.

Finance Officer Marilyn Wilson said she believes this would be the largest field to ever run for mayor in Mitchell. The candidate who receives the most votes will be elected, since the city does not require a majority and no runoff elections are held.

So far, there is one candidate for each of the four City Council seats that are up for election.

Councilmen Jeff Smith, who represents Ward 4, and Marty Barington, who represents Ward 3, are seeking their third terms, and Mel Olson, who represents Ward 1, is after his second term.

Randy Doescher is running for the Ward 2 seat being vacated by Councilman Travis Carpenter, who is not running for a third term.

Mitchell has an eight-member council, with each ward having two council members. Both the mayor’s term and the council terms are for three years.

City voters will also decide June 5 if they agree with a council decision made last fall to change three one-way streets to two-way traffic, and there could be other races involving school, county and legislative positions.

Tags: election 2012, news, updates, mayor, local, mitchell