by Dennis Dalman
The slates of local candidates for open positions in St. Joseph have now been set for the Nov. 5 general election.
The Newsleaders will publish stories on each one throughout September, October and on Nov. 1.
Here are the names of the candidates:
Mayor
The three candidates facing off for the mayoral position are (in alphabetical order) Jon Hazen, Bob Loso (incumbent council member) and Adam Scepaniak (incumbent council member). This year, incumbent council member Adam Scapaniak filed for the mayoral position, as did Loso and another candidate, Jon Hazen. However, if Scepaniak loses the race for mayor, he could still retain his council seat because that term does not expire until 2026.
Council
There are two seats on the St. Joseph City Council open for election, the seats currently held by incumbents Kelly Beniek and Bob Loso. Beniek filed for re-election to the council, whereas Loso filed for the open mayoral position. Two other candidates, Troy Goracke and Adam Schnettler, have also filed for one of the two open seats on the council.
School Board
There are seven candidates (four of them incumbents) vying for four open seats on the board of the St. Cloud School School District, of which St. Joseph is a part.
The candidates are (in alphabetical order) Scott Andreason (incumbent), Al Dahlgren (incumbent), Diana Fenton, Shannon Haws (incumbent), Bruce Hentges, Monica Segura-Schwartz (incumbent) and Yoanna Ayala-Zaldana.
The four open seats are now occupied by incumbents Andreason, Dahlgren, Haws and Segura-Schwartz.