Dave Kleis says he won't run for sixth term as St. Cloud mayor

ST. CLOUD — For the first time in three decades, Dave Kleis won't be on the ballot in November.

The five-term mayor, who also represented the area for a decade in the Minnesota Senate before that, made the decision this week to not run for a sixth term.

"I almost made that decision four years ago but COVID hit and there was so much uncertainty — it would have been hard for anyone to step in," Kleis said. "I think it's important to have new leadership, and I'm confident there will be a lot of folks who will run."

Kleis made the announcement publicly Friday at a press conference where he also unveiled a proposal to change the city's charter — to move city elections to odd years so they don't compete with national and state elections.

Kleis, 60, is the city's longest-serving mayor. First elected in 2005, he was re-elected while running unopposed in 2008, 2012 and 2016, and in the last election, he handily defeated his challenger with more than 63% of the vote.

Kleis won a special Senate election in December 1994 when incumbent Sen. Joanne Benson was elected as lieutenant governor.

Kleis credits Benson as his inspiration for running for office in 1994, some five years after a failed mayoral campaign as a college student: Kleis handed out 750 lawn signs and had 120 people at his campaign party but somehow only received 96 votes, he said with a laugh.

"Frankly, I wasn't ready to be CEO of St. Cloud, so the voters made the right decision in 1989," he said.

But Kleis has always been civic-minded, first enlisting in the U.S. Air Force while he was a high school student in Litchfield. He credits Benson for encouraging him to give running for office another try in 1994, which led to his three decades in leadership.

"I won't ever step away from service and I will continue strongly advocating for people to be engaged," said Kleis, who noted he has no plans to run for other elected offices but plans to continue being active in the community, especially in veterans groups. Four years ago, Kleis' brother Tom died by suicide, spurring Kleis to advocate for more mental health programming for veterans.

Kleis also owns a driving school in St. Cloud, something he'll continue to do after election season comes and goes.

"I'm very proud of and love this town," he said.

Kleis said he feels the city is in a strong position financially and has good administrative leaders in place — something that's important for continuity as a new mayor comes in. St. Cloud is one of just four cities in the state with a strong-mayor system, where the mayor acts as a chief executive and the council as a legislative body.

The candidate filing period for the November election runs from May 21 to June 4. In St. Cloud, the mayor and three at-large seats on the St. Cloud City Council are up for election. If three or more candidates file to run for mayor, a primary election will be held in August. All seats are nonpartisan. So far, Anne Buckvold is the only candidate to announce a run for mayor.

As for the charter change, Kleis said he plans to propose the charter committee consider moving city elections to odd years, similar to how it's done in Duluth and Minneapolis, and how it used to be done in St. Cloud.

"I was the last mayor elected in an odd year. My first term was three years because of the charter change. I know why they did it — to save money — but what happens is the city election is so overshadowed by national and statewide elections," he said. "But the people you elect locally have the biggest impact on your day-to-day life."

If the charter commission recommends the change, it would need to be unanimously approved by the City Council or by citizen ballot measure. Kleis said he isn't sure when the change would go into effect.

Regardless, after a new mayor is sworn in this January, Kleis plans to commit more time to traveling in his effort to visit 150 countries in his life. So far, he's at 130.

"I'm missing one continent. It's really hard to get to Antarctica if you're mayor," Kleis said. "I tell people I haven't had a vacation in 30 years because I travel — but I continue to work. The phone calls and emails don't stop."