BEMIDJI -- Incumbent Ron Johnson will represent Ward 3 on the Bemidji City Council for another four years after defeating Greg Kuhn in the general election on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Johnson led with 927 votes over Kuhn's 608 votes, with Johnson receiving 60.04% of the total votes counted.
Johnson, 70, plans to use his experience as a 20-year member of the council to help mentor newly elected members.
“Experience is important, probably this year more than ever,” Johnson said in mid-October. “It’s good to have some new blood, but you have to have some experience to help mentor and provide historical context and connections.”
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Two things Johnson plans to continue working on are the Highway 197 corridor and making a more permanent solution to the council’s temporary decision to allow the newly annexed people of Northern Township the rights they had before when it came to things like hunting regulations.
“I’m currently on the task force that’s looking deeper into the Highway 197 corridor reconstruction,” Johnson said. “We want to complete that project in a way that reflects the best interests of the businesses and the people who live along that route.”
Johnson has worked at Lakeland PBS since 1979, and is currently the design and promotion manager. He holds degrees in visual arts and graphic design, as well as television and radio broadcasting from BSU, Alexandria Community and Technical College and Brown College in Minneapolis.
Kuhn, 48, originally from Elk River, moved to Bemidji in 2001 and works as an asset manager at Peterson Sheet Metal.
