Tim Goldammer has thrown his hat in the ring to run for a seat on the Mitchell City Council once again.
Goldammer is vying to represent Ward 1 on the Mitchell City Council, going up against longtime incumbent Steve Rice, who is one of four council members up for re-election that will take place June 2. The territory of Ward 1 encompasses the southwest portion of the city. The remaining three City Council seats that are up for re-election will go unchallenged, which means council members John Doescher, Dan Allen and Susan Tjarks will automatically win the respective seats to serve another three-year term.
“My goal is to try and continue voicing the concerns of Mitchell residents, because I know some voters aren’t happy with some things in the city that have been done recently,” Goldammer said.
Goldammer collected the 50 signatures that are needed to file a petition with the city of Mitchell before the March 31 deadline, according to City Finance Officer Michelle Bathke. With the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak that has prompted Mitchell residents to practice social distancing and isolation, the 32-year-old said collecting the signatures from the registered voters in his ward was a different process this time around.
“I had to set some petitions down on the front steps of homes and walk a few feet back for them to sign,” Goldammer said.
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While Goldammer competed in a three-way race in 2018 against non-incumbent candidates, his challenger, Rice, has served for Ward 1 on the Mitchell City Council since 2012. Under former mayor Jerry Toomey, Rice also served as the City Council president.
In 2018, Goldammer squared off against Clay Loneman and current council member Dan Sabers for Ward 1. Sabers won the three-way race in 2018 with 45% of the votes, defeating Goldammer, who came in a close second with 38% of the votes. Considering the tight race he experienced in his first election running for City Council, Goldammer said it helped motivate him to take another shot at winning an open council seat.
“If I would have been defeated by a large margin in the last race, I probably wouldn’t have come back to run again, but it helped me realize I had some voters in the city of Mitchell who believe in my ideas I put forward for the city,” Goldammer said.
Goldammer has resided in the Mitchell community for nearly 10 years, and he said the tight knit community feel is something he enjoys being a part of. He is a culinary arts instructor at Mitchell Technical Institute.
