Three candidates are fighting to fill Lynette Matheny’s Seat 2 on the St. Cloud City Council starting in the Aug. 20 primary elections.
Matheny has served two full terms and must give up the seat.
The three candidates are Jennifer Paul, Phil Lantry, and Mandy Shafer. If none of the three earn 50% plus one vote of the tally, the top two vote-getters will move on to a Nov. 5 runoff during the general election.
Lantry was born and raised in St. Cloud and has cultivated his skills as an architect to envision his town. His experience in construction and architecture encouraged him to want to give back to the community in which he was raised. He said he wants to find more ways to serve and use his experience to improve the lives of everyone in his community.
“I respect the other two candidates, and I think that both of them have good intentions for the city and that they both care about the future of St Cloud,” said Lantry. “But I think that I’m the most qualified candidate.”
He said his gained experience as a construction administrator with multimillion projects and urban planning makes him a qualified candidate for the city council.
“I just don’t think either of the candidate has the knowledge, understanding and experience that I have in those areas, which I believe is paramount to serving on the City Council,” said Lantry.
Paul is a lifelong resident of the St. Cloud area. Early on she grew up in the historic Whitted neighborhood of Narcoossee, and helped bring awareness to the plight of residents whose wells did not provide adequately safe water service; federal and state grants secured will help address that soon.
“I have been heavily involved in our community all my life, fighting and stepping up for our underrepresented residents and communities to make things right,” said Paul. “It is my hope to bridge the gaps where there is disconnect.”
This will be Shafer’s first time running. She said after teaching people in her church about the Constitution, she would take that stand after saying that they needed more good people running for office.
“I thought, well, I can’t keep saying this if I’m not willing to lead by example,” said Shafer. “We live in a constitutional republic, and it only works when its citizens are engaged and involved. I felt that I needed to run for city council. So here I am.
“I feel like I have a willingness to invest in the community and I’ve been going to City Council meetings since I filed to run a year ago,” said Shafer. “I’m definitely willing to work hard and do what it takes to represent all the citizens of St Cloud. I think that that’s what makes me qualified candidate.”
