Brandmire Challenging Libert In St. Cloud’s Ward 3

ST. CLOUD -- The two men running for St. Cloud City Council in Ward 3 were on the News @ Noon Show Thursday. Paul Brandmire is taking on the incumbent John Libert.

Brandmire says he decided to run for office partly because he isn't happy with the way the city council handled the temporary refugee moratorium that proposed by council member Jeff Johnson last year.

Just the way they handled that, they kind of backdoored him.  The protocol is that you present it to your council members and Jeff did that, he presented the moratorium resolution to the council and everybody reviewed it and then all of a sudden Mr. Gerger brought forward this other thing and kind of blindsided him.  I thought that was kind of dirty pool.

But, Libert says he and a majority of the other council members didn't have a choice but to offer the Welcoming Community Resolution when they did.

The moratorium was a publicity stunt by Mr. Johnson, plain and simple because we had 12 attorneys look at what he was trying to do and it was illegal and unconstitutional.  All it would do is give the city of St. Cloud a reputation of being a hatred bigoted community.  It didn't make sense to do that because we're trying to get college kids to stay here, we're trying to get businesses to come here.

Ward 3 is the northwest area of town. Election day is this Tuesday.