On Nov. 8, Moorhead residents will elect one new member to the City Council to represent each of the city’s four wards. Each will be introduced here in The Extra between now and Election Day.

This week we talk with Daryl Moede, Raymond Schultz and Jim Steen, three of the five candidates competing for the Ward 1 seat vacated by Nancy Otto after 17 years of service. Last week’s Extra highlighted Sara Watson Curry and Cory Emerson. First-term councilwoman Mari Dailey also represents the north Moorhead ward; her term expires in 2018

Daryl Moede

Daryl Moede brings a unique perspective to the race for the open Ward 1 seat on the Moorhead City Council. The southwestern Minnesota native has been a Moorhead resident since the day after last Thanksgiving – and a resident of the Dorothy Day House of Hospitality until early September.

Because his application for an apartment the Moorhead High Rise was still pending in August, the address on the papers he filed to become a candidate required special attention. The secretary of state ultimately ruled that he could use his present address, since he’ll have resided there for more than 30 days by the time of the election.

This isn’t Daryl’s first run for office. At home in Windom, he ran for mayor at 23 but was defeated. Then he ran for and won a seat as a city alderman, serving one term.

Moede attended Worthington Community College and Minnesota State University, Mankato. He has a double major in law enforcement and substance abuse counseling. The 51-year-old worked in a variety of service businesses – retail, hospitality, food service – before becoming disabled, living in Sioux Falls until last fall.

Among the issues he’d bring to the City Council, he says, is alcohol use and its ready availability in Moorhead. “I’ve personally been sober for 25 years,” Moede says. “I’m not attacking people over this, but it’s a problem. The alcohol industry needs to take responsibility for the consequences of the product they promote – liquor stores, bars, the Budweiser plant.

“Alcoholism is epidemic. It’s as much of a problem as heroin and opiate drugs.” He adds, “From my own past experience, I know how it’s a disease that affects almost everybody in one way or another.”

He favors close regulation and innovative ways to address the problems caused by excess drinking, including education about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and materials developed by Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

He fully supports the city’s efforts to develop its economic base, but adds, “While we move forward, we can’t let this thing destroy vulnerable people. We can’t leave people behind.

“I’m encouraging my neighbors in the High Rise to get involved and to vote. There seem to be a lot of people there who feel their votes don’t matter. They’re wrong about that.”

Raymond Schultz

Raymond Schultz plans to raise his two children here in Moorhead, and to help build a city where they can learn, grow and continue to live as adults. “Security, safety and sustainability,” he emphasizes. “I’ve been in places that attract drifters and rolling stones. What Moorhead needs is individuals who want to stay and grow together and make this an even better place.”

A Langdon, N.D., native, Schultz – who’s 27 – graduated from the University of North Dakota in 2012 with a degree in informational technology. He works as a support engineer at Microsoft. He and his wife, 12-year-old stepson and 2-year-old daughter lived in Fargo at first. “But when the time came to buy a home, Moorhead was the place to be,” he says.

One of the issues that prompted him to run for the Ward 1 council seat, he says, is the disposition of revenue generated by Moorhead Public Service. “I’m quite disgusted with the city taking up to 20 percent of its revenue,” he asserts. “Taxing your own entity – it doesn’t make sense. It just adds up as a slush fund for the city.”

Instead, he believes income generated by the municipal electrical system should be used solely in the realm of energy. “Why can’t we take that money for sustainable energy projects, like the ones MPS has already started? Why can’t it be spent on infrastructure?

“When we moved to Moorhead, I was shocked by the expensive utility rates,” he continues. “That’s driving some people and businesses away. Use what you need for a sustainable future, and then put it back in people’s pockets with lower rates.”

Raymond is also concerned that Moorhead’s fire and police departments aren’t adequately funded to meet the needs of a growing city. “Every officer’s caseload is 100 service calls a month, before you count patrol and other duties,” he notes. “We’re overworking our officers. We need to fully fund their needs right now, and not let things run amok.”

Jim Steen

Welcoming the Oakport area into Ward 1 and the rest of the city is one of candidate Jim Steen’s major concerns. “It’s like a little community within a community,” he notes. “They’ve had a very different lifestyle, and they don’t want it to change. It’s important that we be very sensitive to their needs.”

Steen is completing his second term on the city’s Economic Development Authority, which he’s chaired this year. He’s also in his third year of service on the city’s Charter Commission. “I’d like to continue serving the city,” he says of his decision to run for the open seat in Ward 1.

The widower has three adult stepchildren. A native of Glyndon, he lived in Fargo until 2002, when he moved across the river. A graduate of Glyndon High School, he attended M State, studying sales and marketing. He works for Structural Block, selling construction materials primarily to masons.

“One of my goals is to revitalize our downtown area,” he adds. “We can take advantage of the momentum of Fargo’s downtown redevelopment. We may not have old buildings to rehab, but we have the next-best thing – a clean slate where we can begin to make downtown Moorhead great again.”

He notes that the city does have many elements in place, including “a very good TIF program, for example.” But he’d like to see it go much farther. One idea: “Working closely with our state representatives to create the kind of renaissance zone that has been so successful on the other side of the river.”

Jim strongly advocates developing more density downtown in terms of apartments and other kinds of residences. “Businesses follow density every time,” he observes. He points to south Moorhead, where Hornbacher’s owned land for many years. “When there were finally enough rooftops down there, they finally built their new store.”

As chairman of the EDA, he’s proud of the work of its new director, Cindy Graffeo: “In just a few months, she has already just about sold out the open lots in our MCCARA Industrial Park. We’re looking at expanding it now.”

Jim adds that, if elected, he’ll emphasize improving customer service for citizens and developers working in Moorhead. “They’re the city’s customers. They’re the people who want to build and expand our city. The right staff is an important part of that equation.”