Tonka Bay Residents Will Vote for a New Mayor this Fall

Residents of Tonka Bay will be voting for a new mayor this November.

William LaBelle has decided not to file for re-election, and two candidates have declared their wishes to succeed him.

Gerry De La Vega and Ken Pittel filed their declarations of candidacy prior to Tuesday's 5 p.m. deadline. Tonka Bay mayors serve two-year terms.

Also up for election this fall in Tonka Bay are a pair of city council seats.

Jonathan Grothe, Elli Ansari and Jeff Clapp all filed their candidacy papers for the seat, and voters will be able to vote for two candidates—with the top-two vote recipients earning council seats.

Current city council member Anthony Marceau has decided not to file for re-election; De La Vega currently occupies the second open seat. Both seats up for grabs are four-year terms.

Because there will be several names on the ballot, Tonka Bay has scheduled a drawing at 5 p.m. today, Aug. 16, to determine the order on the ballot.

The deadline to file for city office was 5 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 14, and candidates have until 5 p.m. on Aug. 16 to withdraw their declarations.

The 2012 general election takes place on Tuesday, Nov. 6, and includes races for the following offices. Patch will have much more on each in the coming weeks.

• U.S. President
• U.S. Senate
• U.S. Congress
• State House
• State Senate
• Hennepin County Commissioner
• Local City Council and Mayor
• Three Rivers Park District Commissioners
• Various Judicial Races