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TRACY -- The winner of this year's mayoral election in the city of Tracy says he hopes to help build relationships in the community, and to work to encourage local business.
"I'm excited to take on the role, and have an opportunity to work with the council," said Burke Gardner.
Gardner said he wanted to look at opportunities for Tracy to make positive improvements for its future. "I'm glad that people heard that positive message," he said.
Gardner was one of two candidates running for mayor in Tracy this year. According to unofficial vote totals reported by the Minnesota Secretary of State's Office, Gardner received 391 votes, while candidate Ronald Stephens received 330 votes.
Gardner grew up in North Dakota and is currently a language arts teacher at Tracy Area High School. Gardner said he believes in being an active part of his community and has been attending local government meetings in Tracy to learn more about the city.
As a mayoral candidate, "I've been trying to focus a lot on building relationships around town," Gardner said.
Having strong relationships and being able to work together with residents was important for leadership in a small community, he said.
Gardner said one of his priorities as mayor will be ongoing infrastructure projects, like updating Tracy's sewer system. Another priority will be finding ways to help encourage local business and fill in Tracy's downtown. At a time when it's tough for small businesses to compete with online retail, it might be helpful to support more service-oriented businesses, he said.
"I want to work with our EDA and identify, what are services people in our town would support," he said. "It's not an overnight goal," he said.
"I believe strongly that Tracy is a wonderful place to live," Gardner said. "I want to work with the council and the community to preserve that."