City voters will elect mayor, alderpersons and municipal judge

City of Hudson voters will select a mayor, three alderpersons and a municipal judge in the April 1 election.

The ballot will list two candidates for the office of mayor – Dean Knudson and Todd Erskine – but Erskine has dropped out of the race and thrown his support to Knudson.

Knudson, a member of the City Council from 1996 to 2002, is running for the office that has been held by Jack Breault for the past 12 years.

There are two candidates on the ballot in just one of the three aldermanic districts that will be selecting a City Council member.

In District 3, Lori Bernard and Dave Selissen filed the necessary nomination papers and survived a three-candidate primary on Feb. 19 to earn places on the April 1 ballot. Bernard and Selissen are hoping to replace Paul Radermacher, who chose not to seek re-election after representing District 3 residents for four years.

Pam Brokaw is the only candidate whose name will appear on the ballot in District 2, but she faces a write-in challenge from Teicko Huber. Brokaw and Huber are running for the council seat occupied by Dennis O’Connell since the fall of 2002.

O’Connell, a U.S. Postal Service employee, has accepted the position of postmaster at Caledonia, Minn.

Incumbent Alderman Lee Wyland is the only candidate in District 4. Wyland has served two years on the council, and as the council president for the past year.

Municipal Judge Susan Gherty also will be unopposed on the April 1 ballot. She has held the office since narrowly defeating 21-year incumbent Douglas Zilz in the 1996 spring election.

Gherty hasn’t had a challenge for the position since the late Zilz opposed her in 1998.

The candidates were all asked two questions by the Star-Observer: