The forum, held Tuesday evening, was broadcast on the internet and streamed on Facebook, with each of the three on-ballot candidates answering questions from their homes, side-by-side on the same screen. Blue Weber, executive director of the Grand Forks Downtown Development Association, stepped the candidates through property taxes, budgets, the local school district's financial needs and more.
And one of the most charged moments of the evening came as the trio tackled how often, precisely, the mayor should be at City Hall. The current mayorship is a part-time job; should that change?
"I have faced that campaign promise every election," incumbent mayor Mike Brown said, arguing that he trusts city staff and partners to help build his vision under the part-time arrangement. "You don't need a full-time mayor. You need a mayor with a plan. You need a mayor with energy. You need a mayor who builds relationships."
The answer crystallized the mayor's theory of leadership, one that he's sketched out over and over in recent weeks as he's taken credit for large community accomplishments over the past two decades — from the CanadInn project during the 2000s to business development today — and usually alongside other local groups. Brown often positions himself as the city's visionary-in-chief, and the forum was no different.
But for this year's challengers, the promise of big vision isn't enough, and lagging workforce statistics offer them an easy target. Robin David, a city workforce and immigration staffer, quickly followed up to say that she'd shadow workers, hold office hours in the community, and make the mayorship her first focus on Monday morning.
Brandon Bochenski, a real estate agent and developer, was more blunt.
"It's time for a strong leader," he said. "A strong leader has to be there full-time, has to be there every day.”
It was just one exchange in nearly two hours of commentary from the candidates, and a uniquely valuable opportunity given the way the coronavirus campaign is keeping candidates indoors. In a typical mayoral campaign, the candidates would be shaking hands, giving away yard signs and criss-crossing the community to stump ahead of June 9. But, with Grand Forks functionally locked down, the trio of candidates on this year's ballot are profoundly limited in their ability to reach the average voter, forced to rely even more on media interviews, advertising, and events like the forum on Tuesday evening (Art Bakken, a former City Council member and a write-in candidate for mayor, faces a commensurately steeper climb to the mayor's office, and was not a part of the Young Professionals' forum).
And Brown had his own turn to swipe back at Bochenski. The real estate developer has outlined a lengthy economic plan to help boost local business and stimulate wages, including a series of $10,000 home-payment loans from the city to help boost the local ownership rate. Brown argued that's little more than an opportunity for realtors to tack an extra $10,000 on local home prices. David said the local housing problem is as much about housing supply as anything else — and that much of the answer is giving developers a reason to build housing stock that's within reach of middle-class home-buyers.
"If we're not addressing that supply issue, funneling more money into the community isn't going to help," David said.
The forum also comes at a pivotal moment in the campaign, as mail-in voting is set to begin roughly now — with many ballots expected to be in North Dakotans' hands as early as last week. And, because there will be no in-person voting on June 9, that means significantly more votes will be cast during May than in previous campaigns.
And as the forum drew to a close, Weber reminded those watching that, should they have follow-up questions, candidates are always happy to talk — leaving off that, this year, they’re likely doubly happy to do so.
"The nicest thing about a mayoral candidacy, especially in a city like Grand Forks, is that these are people you can talk to."
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How much should a Grand Forks mayor be at City Hall? Candidates offer their thoughts - Grand Forks Herald
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