Duluth’s Mayor-Elect Roger Reinert looks ahead after Election Day

DULUTH, MN. (Northern News Now) - A day after winning Duluth’s mayoral election, Roger Reinert has begun the work he needs to do before taking office in January.

Reinert won Tuesday’s election with 60% of the vote, ousting current Mayor Emily Larson. Larson was seeking her third term.

RELATED: Larson campaign concedes Duluth mayoral race, Reinert winner

“The easiest or the best first step moving forward is to get rid of all the campaign stuff,” Reinert said. “Let’s put that behind us and now let’s move forward as a community.”

Reinert spent Wednesday cleaning up campaign signs, which is the just the start of the work. He also has to put together a team to help with the transition of power.

“I’ll also be putting together some smart folks on some of the key issues that we’ve been talking about, so as we jump into office in mid-January, we’ll be ready to go and hit the ground running,” Reinert said.

The mayor also decides to keep, or to appoint, people in leadership positions within the city. Reinert is already thinking about his leadership team.

“As I look at the mayoral staff, as I look at that key leadership team, and then as I look at department level leaders, that’s what I’m going to be looking for,” Reinert said. “What is the skill set we need here? Not what the individual personality or the task history is.”

Reinert said he is looking to have conversations with the city administrator, the city attorney, the fire and police chiefs, along with the fiscal and budget staff.

“I don’t love campaigning, but I love doing the work,” Reinert said. “I am actually really excited to think about what does the leadership team look like? What is the structure necessary for us to deliver on the things that voters said they want in this election?”

Reinert has not served as mayor before, but he has spent time on Duluth’s City Council and was formerly a Minnesota State Senator.

The mayoral race was one of the most expensive races, with almost $500,000 spent on campaigning efforts.

The voting turnout for Duluth’s mayoral election was also up, with 29,295 people casting a vote.

Reinert, along with other city-elected officials, will take office mid-January.

For all Duluth election results, click here.

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