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St. Cloud Mayor Nathan Blackwell
St. Cloud voters decided to keep three incumbents in office.
Mayor Nathan Blackwell took 54 percent of the 26,134 votes cast. He defeated political newcomer Chris Robertson, a downtown businessman.
Blackwell, a senior pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church in St. Cloud, ran a safety-focused campaign.
‘The fundamental responsibility of local government is public safety. As your mayor, I have worked hard to protect the citizens of St. Cloud,” Blackwell told voters in one of his last campaign messages.
Since he was elected in 2016, Blackwell said reported crime dropped by 28 percent and that under his watch the city hired additional firefighters and police, provided more training to first responders and opened a new fire station.
“I care about the city and want to make a difference,” Blackwell said last week.
He has lived in St. Cloud since 1988.
Robertson, who grew up in St. Cloud, ran as a change candidate focused on infrastructure, controlling growth and contaminants in the city’s water supply.
“I care about people. These are my friends and family members. My heart is here and I want to make some good changes,” Robertson said in the days leading up to the election.
In the race for Council Seat 3, incumbent Charles “Chuck” Cooper was reelected to office, taking home 52.7 percent of the 25,128 votes cast and defeating political novice Kolby Urban.
“During the last four years I have fought against a pro-developer, anticitizen majority on the council,” Cooper told voters, explaining that he prevented a back-room deal in which the city sold city land a discounted price.
“Our roads, water, sewer, stormwater, police and fire problems must be fixed before we add more residents to our already failing infrastructure,” he said.
Said Urban: “I would like to take a moment to thank all of the incredible people who have been involved in the Kolby Urban campaign for City Council Seat 3. It’s been an incredible journey over a year in the making.”
In the race for Council Seat 2, Linette Matheny held on to her office in a landslide victory over former Councilman Donney Shroyer. She won 64 percent of the 25,385 votes cast in the race.
Matheny, a chief engineer for Osceola County, asked voters for support based on her record in office for the last four years.
“We have balanced the city budget with no new taxes,” said Matheny, a longtime resident and deputy-mayor.
“I wanna protect our small-town lifestyle,” she said. “I’m proud to have grown up in St. Cloud and to give back to the community that has meant so much to me.”
The city of St. Cloud has about 54,000 residents, according to the latest Census data.
