While two of the three at-large St. Cloud City Council members decided to vacate their seats this election cycle, incumbent George Hontos is hoping to keep his name in the mix.
Hontos has been on the council for more than 20 years and has been instrumental in bringing many city projects to fruition. This includes a new skatepark, securing land for the Great River Regional Library and reimagining the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of St. Cloud.
These completed projects span the city's spectrum of governmental responsibilities from parks to housing to economic development. Because of this prior experience, Hontos said he would be a crucial voice on city council since St. Cloud’s political environment is being shaken up by a new mayor and up to four new city council members.
“I bring a lot of history and experience, and we have a changing of the guard with a new mayor,” Hontos said. “I think my experience and my knowledge of the system would be helpful for a lot of people.”
Hontos’ stances on city council haven’t come without the occasional disagreement. The incumbent has picked battles with the city’s administration, particularly current Mayor Dave Kleis, and told the St. Cloud Times the council needs to keep the mayor in check to ensure responsible governing.
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The former business owner publicly stated he’d like to reimagine the roles of city council and the mayor's office, particularly looking at avenues of shared responsibilities between the legislative branch-city council and executive branch-mayor’s office.
“The mayor has to be accountable just like anybody else,” Hontos said. “If there's any inkling of feeling that there's more to the story that we're not getting, or that the picture is painted a certain way, but really, there's another story behind it, I want to know about it.”
Hontos also wants to study ways to increase the income of St. Cloud residents. He said if there’s more money in the central Minnesota city, it’ll attract businesses and push forth economic development.
St. Cloud currently has an average household income of $60,800, which is 71.5% of the state average of $85,100, according to the U.S. Census.
Once the area’s income increases, Hontos said people will have more money to spend downtown and attract housing developers, which could help alleviate two of the city’s woes of a downtown “on life support” and lackluster housing stock.
“We can't support some of these fine dining things that people are talking about, or a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods grocery store in downtown St. Cloud, because there's not a market for it, because of the (lower income),” Hontos said.
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Revitalizing downtown is another priority for the former small business owner. Hontos used to own a deli in the city center, and would like to see the neighborhood get back on its feet. He advocated for the Stearns County courthouse to stay in downtown St. Cloud, and said his experience as a downtown St. Cloud business owner would be critical in these discussions.
Voters will pick three city council candidates on Nov. 5 to represent St. Cloud. There are six candidates running for these three positions. More information can be found in the St. Cloud Times' 2024 Minnesota Voter Guide https://www.sctimes.com/news/elections/voter-guide/ .
Corey Schmidt covers politics and courts for the St. Cloud Times. He can be reached at cschmidt@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: George Hontos talks working with mayor, income disparities in St. Cloud City Council race
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