Eric Angvall positions himself as an independent

For much of his life, Eric Angvall of Lester Prairie has voted Republican. But this November, he’s challenging incumbent House District 18A Rep. Ron Shimanski under the DFL banner.

Angvall believes Shimanski is motivated by good intentions, but thinks the Republican Party has become too narrow in its thinking.

“They’re so tied up in ideology, they don’t see the whole picture,” he said. “They think investing in anything that they have is a bad thing ...”

Angvall first ran for public office in the late ’80s and was elected to the Lester Prairie City Council for one term. He followed that up with seven two-year terms as the city’s mayor, albeit not concurrently.

Angvall’s proudly wears his offbeat sense of humor on his sleeve. When he resigned as mayor mid-term this past spring, he gave his reasons for doing so in a David Letterman-style top 10 list.

His real reason for resigning, Angvall said, was the council had wrapped up all its major ongoing projects and was preparing to set its 2009 budget.

Leadership goals
Angvall says he had no ambition to run for state office when he resigned as mayor in March. In June, he said, McLeod County Democrats began asking him to run against Shimanski.

If elected, Angvall’s priorities include investing in Minnesota’s roads, education and renewable energy. He believes proper investment in transportation, schools and alternatives to fossil fuels makes good business sense.

For more on this story, see the Leader’s Aug. 28 print edition.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)