MOORHEAD - Diane Wray Williams, a former Minnesota state legislator who was elected to the Moorhead City Council in 2003, is not running for re-election in the Nov. 8 municipal election.
"It's time for me to move on. I don't think people should go on and on," said Williams, who stressed that she has enjoyed her tenure on the council.
"I'm hoping I won't miss it too much," she added.
Ten people are running to fill four council seats, one from each of the city's four wards.
In Dilworth, four people are running for two council seats that are now held by Richard Cariveau and Julie Nash, both of whom are running for
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re-election.
Cariveau owns several businesses, including the Hi-Ho Tavern and the Mills Lounge in Dilworth.
Nash, 508 4th St. NE, is project coordinator for North Dakota State University's FORWARD project to recruit and retain female faculty.
They face challenges from Jason Kakac, 401 4th St. NE, and Jim Sauvageau, 919 Woodbridge Circle.
Kakac works at the city of Moorhead's wastewater treatment plant.
Sauvageau, a former Veterans Affairs employee, is retired.
The Dilworth council seats carry four-year terms.
In the 2nd Ward, Heidi Durand, 2739 Walnut Circle, and Travis Reimche, 929 32nd St. S., are running for the seat now held by Williams, who was the Minnesota District 9A representative for one term in the early 1990s.
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Durand, who has Williams' endorsement for the council post, is a sociology instructor at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Moorhead.
Reimche is patients accounts manager at Sanford Health.
In the 3rd Ward, incumbent Dan Hunt, 3511 7th St. S., will face off against Mike Hulett, 4016 S. Rivershore Drive.
Hunt is retired from the Moorhead Police Department.
A phone message left for Hulett was not returned by the time this story went to press and his occupation could not be determined.
Candidates in the 4th Ward include incumbent Greg Lemke, 2647 29th Ave. S., and challengers Bert Chamberlain, 1816 24th Ave. S.; Steve Gehrtz, 3606 Westmoor Boulevard; and Conrad Larson, 1603 41st Ave. S.
Lemke is director of public safety at Minnesota State University Moorhead.
Chamberlain recently retired from the Moorhead School District where he was an administrator and physical education teacher.
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Gehrtz is a co-founder of Gehrtz Construction Services.
Larson, who described himself as semi-retired, works as a groundskeeper at the Ponderosa Golf Course in Glyndon.
Moorhead council seats carry four-year terms.
Council members receive a salary of $851 a month, or $10,212 a year.
Readers can reach Forum reporter Dave Olson at (701) 241-5555
