Pine City, Minnesota elects first openly gay mayor
PINE CITY, Minn. — Kent Bombard was elected Pine City's mayor on Tuesday, defeating his challenger by more than 26 percentage points and becoming the city's first openly gay mayor.
Bombard was running against three other candidates: Sheldon Gallmeier, Corbin Peters and Nathan Rynders. According to unofficial election results on the Minnesota secretary of state's website, Bombard won the election with 49.56% of the votes with Gallmeier right behind him garnering 23.03% of the votes.
Bombard took over the mayoral office in July when former Pine City Mayor Carl Pederson resigned, but was reelected on Tuesday.
Bombard responded to WCCO's request for comment by saying, "It's an honor to continue serving as Mayor of Pine City. I take great pride in shaping our community's future and am committed to working transparently with residents to reach our shared goals."
Bombard said a goal of his mayoral term is to improve housing in Pine City. He said he hopes to create more housing, and as a result, boost local job opportunities and support business growth.
A major project Bombard is already looking to get off the ground is the redevelopment of the former county courthouse.
"We're actively seeking proposals for the site and are eager to review the ideas and plans that will soon come forward," said Bombard. "This redevelopment represents an exciting opportunity to revitalize a historic part of our community and create new spaces for residents and businesses alike."
Bombard is just one of three openly gay men to hold this office in the state of Minnesota. That includes Richard Carlbom, who served as mayor of St. Joseph from 2005 to 2007, and Aaron Wittnebel, elected mayor of Lake Park in 2012.
Before being appointed as mayor, Bombard worked in IT.
Pine City is located an hour north of the Twin Cities, with a population of approximately 3,900. Pine City hosts East Central Minnesota Pride, which was the first rural pride event in the U.S., founded in 2005.