Ward 2 filing period underway

The filing period to fill the vacancy in Bemidji’s Ward 2 is still underway, and filings will be accepted until end of business hours next Tuesday.

According to a release from city clerk Michelle Miller, only one person has filed so far. Jaime Thibodeaux filed last Friday, and she narrowly lost to Mike Beard in the 2018 election.

The Secretary of State’s results show that Thibodeaux received 356 votes in the 2018 election, while Beard received 397.

Beard resigned earlier this year, citing health concerns as the reason for his stepping down.

The special election will be held May 12 at the Bemidji National Guard Armory, for Ward 2 residents only.

If no one receives more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates will move on to another election, which would take place in August.


Larissa Donovan was the News Director for the stations of Paul Bunyan Broadcasting and has been, almost without interruption, since Election Day 2016, through July 2023. She covered all the beats in north-central Minnesota, such as local government, crime, education, environment and social issues. She studied communications at Bemidji State University. You can follow along with Larissa's live tweets of meetings and events on Twitter!


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