Meyer and Grimsley Both Take Jabs in Becker County Candidate Forum

DETROIT LAKES (KDLM) – Becker County Commissioner Ben Grimsley and challenger David Meyer spoke during the League of Women Voter’s Candidate Forum, Monday at the Detroit Lakes Police Department.

Both candidates are running for a seat in District 2, which makes up the city of Detroit Lakes south of Highway 10.

The forum became somewhat heated when Meyer indicated that Grimsley hadn’t created a positive relationship with County employees, “One of the concerns that I think is huge in the County right now is the fact that people [employees] are leaving the county, they’re not staying here, they’re not happy being here…I have the ability to develop positive professional relationships with employees and colleagues…my opponent has not done that in the past 10 years.”

The County has seen significant turmoil in the last year after a strike was narrowly averted with county employees represented by Teamsters Local 320; resignation of two-thirds of the county’s 6-person IT Department and a period when there were at least twenty unfilled county positions prompting the board to adopt a work from home policy to attract and retain employees.

Grimsley, argued that his experience as a commissioner and his ability to be responsive to people’s needs put him above Meyer, “I was elected when I was 25 and I was interested in politics prior to that, I don’t know if I have seen my opponent…at any county board meetings.”

Grimsley says commissioners are supposed to set overall policy, not get involved in day-to-day county operations, Meyer was clear that as a commissioner he felt it was important to ensure employees felt wanted, “The employees have to feel appreciated, they have to feel they’re wanted there, and they have to want to stay and work in Becker county and right now there are a lot of employees who don’t want to do that…and if that is not fixed it’s going to continue to get worse.”

You can see the complete candidate forum between Grimsley and Meyer below.