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1. Personal information Jerome Debeltz: My name is Jerome J. Debeltz. I’m 73 years old, and have lived in Ely for 72 years. I graduated from Ely High School in 1970, and attended Vermilion Community College with a degree in Business Administration and accounting. I’m married for 52 years have three children and eight grandchildren.
I got elected to the Ely City Council in November of 1992 and have served Ely as a council member for 31 years. I have been involved in many of the different activities of the community. I own my income tax service along with being a para-professional at the Babbitt school.
Some of my past and present activities include 18 years as a Ely High School football coach, three years V.C.C. football coach, 12 years Ely High School Track Coach, past blueline President, Ely Softball League Director for over 30 years, St. Anthony’s Choir for over 30 years, and a member of the patriotic Choir, as well as a volunteer at Ruby’s Pantry and Meals on Wheels.
Paul Kess: I am retired after teaching 40 years at Vermilion. Married for 48 years to Laurie, who is also a retired educator. I’ve been active in civic affairs my entire life, but on the City Council I focus on budget and economic development. I am an active Board member of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools, including serving as it’s President for two years.
John Lahtonen: I am 64 and was born and raised in Ely. After graduating from EHS I went to school in Hibbing and got my degree in law enforcement. I spent 34 years on the job with the last 26 in Ely and the last 10 as Chief of Police. I have driven school bus for 40 years for the Ely School District. Sara Burger and I have been together for 30 years. Emily Roose: I am Emily Roose, a 28year old business advisor with Entrepreneur Fund, helping small businesses across the Iron Range start, stabilize, and expand, and get access to loans. I graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College with a degree in Public Accounting. While working at Deloitte & Touché LLP as an auditor, I earned my license as a CPA. This financial background lead me to be the Finance Team Leader at the Ely-Bloomenson Community Hospital. In college, I was involved in many activities including serving as the class representative on the Student Senate, principal bassist in the symphony, playing on the rugby team, and more. This high rate of involvement in diverse activities led me to get highly involved in Ely where I currently serve as the Chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission, am on the Projects Committee and the sanitation committee for the city of Ely. I am also the treasurer on the Ely Winter Festival board, serve on the Finance Committee for the Ely Area Community Foundation, and am a member of Rotary and AAUW clubs. I help with the community dances at the senior center, participate in many Northern Lakes Arts Association events, help organize the 100 Women Who Care fundraiser, volunteer for the Walleye Whamma, am a member of a local church, and participate in many other events around the area. I dedicate my time and energy to these programs, because being part of a robust community motivates me to be my best.
Frederica Musgrave Where I grew up in the 1950s in rural southern California orange grove country, everything is now covered with dense housing. It’s ugly. Ag land and open spaces are gone. Jobs and USA-grown food gone. All due to no/poor long-term comprehensive and sustainability planning. I chose to move back to where my parents were born -the Midwest - for college, work and retirement. Ely drew me here.
Service to others is a family value, my value. I’ve held many blue- and white-color jobs, including teaching and purchasing for AAFES, Europe. I’ve volunteered and been involved in local organizations throughout my life. I took groups of students to Germany and YMCA Camp Widgiwagan. I received 2009 Community Involvement Award from Suburban Community Channels for weekly local nonpartisan cable program. In 2023 I co-founded Ely’s nonpartisan Citizens for Transparency website www. elyminnesota.com/blog/
2. Why are you the best choice to be a council member in Ely?
Jerome Debeltz: I have served on almost all city commissions and boards, and have been the acting mayor a couple of times. Presently I serve on the E. R. committee, cemetery committee, liquor commission, and Police commission. I feel that my experience on the council makes me a good candidate.
Paul Kess: I believe that I am a good choice for Council because I am committed to good and fair city governance. I work hard, have thick skin , and do not shy away from difficult issues. I understand the issues that concern us.
John Lahtonen: I was born and raised here, I know what Ely is and is not. I’m very familiar with the players, how the council works, how budget process works and trying to do lots with not so much. My strength is my understanding of the budget and what you can and can’t do.
Frederica Musgrave I am the best choice for Ely City Council, because I know there is not “one most important issue” facing us… nor one simple solution. You can not teach kids or govern a community with a rigid heart, closed eyes and plugged ears. Democracy is precious and starts with respectful listening. Democracy survives with open and informed discussions with goals toward well-thought out and balanced decisions.
Emily Roose: I am the best choice for Ely City Council because I am passionate about the Ely community. I truly believe in our local government process and I will form my opinions during public forums. My strong financial background and desire to help small businesses will help me to make sure that policies I vote on are fiscally responsible, keep the entrepreneurial aptness of Ely alive, and provide sustainable economic growth for Ely.
3. What do you feel is the most important issue currently facing the city and what would you do to address it?
Jerome Debeltz: I feel one of the most important issues facing the city is our lack of housing. In the grant cycle through the state most of the money went south. Only Grand Rapids and Silver Bay got any money up north. We must work with our representatives to fight to get money for Ely. We need housing to get more jobs here to keep the school, hospital,and the businesses going.
Paul Kess: The most important issue facing us in the next year is the ambulance issue . It is an essential service, but like many rural communities, we struggle to staff and pay for our current ambulance service. As a new member of the Ambulance Board and as Council representative to the new Task Force I intend to help find a solution to this issue.
This will not be easy..... There are many disparate interests and finding the balance will require listening carefully to all parties.
John Lahtonen: We need more families with children to insure we can have a school, a hospital and more. We need to have young people. I will be promoting economic development and economic opportunity for everybody whenever the chance arises. I’ve been a member of the Housing Redevelopment Authority for 14 years. I have direct experience with the complexities of housing. It’s easy to go look for grants but we need jobs to build or remodel homes or to be able to have rents that can pay for a housing development. We need jobs to afford housing projects. We need wages to support housing projects.
Frederica Musgrave I am going door-to-door to homes, apartments and businesses to introduce myself. My flyer is transparent on how I will work hard to open up government. I will keep my own ears open, ask questions, and research issues, because I do not claim to have all the answers. Informed input is an active endeavor; it doesn’t come from passive compliance. City hall and council need less mirrors, more windows. Mirrors were installed to rule, not govern. I trust the people. I did before. I believe even more so after going doorto- door.
Emily Roose: The biggest issue our community faces is the need for entry level jobs that create enough wealth to pass on to future generations. I will make sure that our city ordinances do not hinder sustainable job creation that will last for generations. Every job created has a large impact on our community.
The need for additional long term housing creates another issue for our city. I am will explore ways to inspire people to use their properties to their fullest and create long term housing. I also look forward to investigating creative and collaborative ways to bring additional housing to Ely.
The city’s aging infrastructure is another pressing matter. The city currently does an amazing job of capturing the money available for Ely’s infrastructure. On City Council, I will aid in continuing that momentum in any way I can, and will lobby to obtain more state and federal money allocated to rural cities, like Ely.
4. Please list at least one other idea or proposal you would advance during your term in office to improve city services, change how city government operates, or make Ely a better place to live.
Jerome Debeltz: Another issue that has to be addressed is our aging infrastructure in the city. With the last water break it showed that something has to be done. The big problem is it will take millions of dollars to get this done. But until we can get enough money our city workers do a great job to meet the task at hand in fixing what has to be done.
Paul Kess: Among the many other issues we face ( tight budgets, aging infrastructure, jobs, etc.) we really need to find funding to finish our housing project. If people can’t live here they can’t work here . One possible solution is a housing trust fund that is set up to encourage and help find housing. The IRRR may be able to help.
John Lahtonen: The Senior Citizens Center was funded at $7,500 and I would continue to fund at least at that level. We need a facility like this in our community and I would thank the volunteers who keep that place going. I feel we have to have a building for the seniors for their activities and if there is a way we could provide meals at a low cost as well. If I was dreaming I would like a Fortune 500 company to come to town with 100 jobs and building new homes to get our car dealership back here and make Ely vibrant again and keep our hospital and our school. We need to spread out our tax base.
Frederica Musgrave I promise not to just rubber stamp. My goal is not for Council meetings to last less than an hour. Check out www. elyminnesota.com/blog/ for examples of what policies, procedures and attitudes need to change. See how I’ve donated my time and energy working with others to inform, educate, and promote standards of behavior, ethics, accountability and fiscal responsibility i n government. Email me at [email protected] Thank you!
Emily Roose: Ely is already an amazing place to live, filled with amazing people. During my time in office, I will explore creative ideas to bring more economic activity to Ely. I have been exploring the creation of a joint Ely businesses and entrepreneurs health insurance plan, hosted by one existing membership organization. This will make health insurance cheaper for current businesses that offer health insurance because of joining a larger group, it will give access to entrepreneurs to have health insurance themselves, and will open the door for businesses to provide health insurance for more employees.
I also hope to support events, business, and organizations that bring tourists to Ely during the shoulder seasons to create less of a need for Ely to make all of it’s revenue in the summer months.
Thank you for considering me for Ely City Council.
