Buckvold Resigns from St. Joseph City Council

ST. JOSEPH – St. Joseph City Council member and former mayoral candidate Anne Buckvold has resigned her seat.

Buckvold submitted her resignation Thursday to the St. Joseph council and city officials.

Buckvold was appointed to the council in 2018, and says “life circumstances have changed” since that time.

“It’s definitely been an emotional decision and I didn’t want to have to do it,” Buckvold said. “It’s been on my mind for the last month or two. If I’m going to do it, I want to do it well, and I just can’t do it.”

Buckvold say she plans to devote time attending to personal matters and growing her visual art business, Pencil House Studio. And, she hasn’t ruled out a run for public office in the future.

“I don’t think there’s any way I could ever leave the public arena,” she said. “There’s just so much work that needs to get done, not just in elected office but on a lot of boards and commissions. There are just so many spaces where we have people showing up, paid or not, and they’re making decisions."

"Particularly at this point in time, and especially in the St. Cloud region, I really feel as though people lack an understanding of what opportunities exist right here, right now, and how to grab onto them," she added.

Buckvold says another bid for public office could be in her future in four years - or sooner.

“I have some thoughts about what I might do two years from now,” Buckvold said. “I’m really looking at the four-year mark, but there are some exciting things in two years, too. Do I want to run (for public office), or do I want to create some potency in another way?”

Buckvold sought but lost her bid for the District 13A Minnesota House of Representatives seat in 2016 against current representative Jeff Howe. She was appointed to the St. Joseph City Council in 2018 following a resignation and was elected to the position that November. Buckvold challenged longtime St. Joseph mayor Rick Schultz for the office in 2020, earning 40% of the vote.

Buckvold’s last day on the council will be Wednesday, January 27. With two-years remaining in her four-year term the council plans to follow the appointment process to fill her seat.