Jake Anderson Running for St. Cloud Mayor

ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- After spending several years on the planning commission, and most recently on the city council, Jake Anderson believes he's ready to take the next step as mayor of St. Cloud.

He is one of two current council members looking to replace Dave Kleis.

Anderson is a graduate of St. Cloud Tech and St. Cloud State University. He works for Stearns County as an IT Project Manager.

He says he's running for mayor because he wants to help set a vision and direction for the city for the next 10 years, and he feels the city is ready for a reboot.

Anderson says he wants to help create a strong east and west end of downtown, and he also wants to diversify our employer base.

I'd like to see some more med tech and some newer industries come to St. Cloud. We had a lot of manufacturing before, we've lost some of that. We've also had a lot of retail and a lot of services, and we have a giant medical field, obviously, CentraCare being our largest employer. I'd like to see that complimented with some of those medical services and medical device manufacturer-type things.

He says he wants to continue the momentum to revitalize the downtown even though there have been a lot of ebbs and flows over the years. He says getting all interested parties working together is vital.

Each organization whether its the city, nonprofits, or the private business community working together to figure out what can the city be doing, what can the Downtown Alliance be doing, what can the Greater St. Cloud Development Corporation be doing, and what can the state be doing.

Anderson says the homeless population is an issue that has to be addressed. He says we have to remember that they are people, and we need to lift them up to improve their lives. He'd like to reengage a task force with the area counties and nonprofits.

As for housing developments, Anderson says there are a lot of costs that are out of the city's control, but what the city can focus on is things like zoning changes and its own fees. He says the Accessory Dwelling Unit ordinance the council passed earlier this year will help with new affordable homes.