It's all in the attitude

Lillie Newspapers: 11/14/2007: Alex Davy: Maplewood residents oust Cave for Nephew in city council race. Rossbach survives heated race

Sea change. That's what residents ushered in Nov. 6 when they replaced incumbent Rebecca Cave with first-time candidate John Nephew, bringing the fierce battle for two Maplewood city council seats to a close.

Council Member Will Rossbach successfully defended his seat against Cave and newcomer DelRay "Rocky" Rokke.

"It's still strange to believe it's over," Nephew says. "But we have a lot of work to do if we're going to restore pride in Maplewood."

Nephew's victory breaks a two-year political alliance between Cave, Mayor Diana Longrie and Council Member Erik Hjelle.

The 3-2 majority shook up Maplewood's status quo, eliminating a number of jobs in the 2006 city reorganization and folding the parks and recreation department into public works. Critics accused the council majority of mismanagement and claim the job cuts were a response to unionization efforts.

"This was a victory for the citizens of Maplewood," Rossbach says. "They took back their city."

Nephew and Rossbach, who ran a joint campaign, received a combined 60 percent of the 12,535 votes cast.

Cave says she felt outmaneuvered and outgunned. "They went for party endorsements," she says. "They had quite a bit of money, and they very successfully clouded the issues. But anyone who deals with dirty politics is going to suffer the consequences eventually. What goes around comes around."
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"Being in office isn't about getting payback," Nephew says. "I have the ability to negotiate past personal feelings to solve the real problems facing Maplewood. I'm confident that we'll be able to work out our differences."

Rossbach echoed the sentiment. "I'd like to return to a government process where the entire council is listened to openly and honestly," he says. "We need to try to bring Maplewood back together."
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Council Member Erik Hjelle says hiring a consultant to aid in the selection of a city manager is "a waste of time and resources."

"These whiners want to spend tens of thousands of dollars so they can feel good about the process," Hjelle says. "Just to hire someone who will sit there doing nothing for a year and a half because he's afraid."