Tilley, Fields Surprised By Lack of Challengers in Council Race

For two weeks, Cyndee Fields was on pins and needles wondering if any challengers would step forward in the 2012 Eagan City Council elections.

But Fields, who has served on the council since 2001, was surprised to learn at the end of the city's two-week filing period that no one—besides she and fellow incumbent Meg Tilley—had entered the race.

Barring a successful write-in campaign in the Nov. 6 general election, both will be sworn in for a fourth four-year term in January.

"This is, I think, quite unusual," said Tilley.

Of the Dakota County municipalities that have held filing periods so far this year, only in Eagan are local candidates running unopposed, according to information distributed by the Minnesota Office of the Secretary of State. In Inver Grove Heights, five are running for the mayor's seat and two spots on the council.

In Rosemount, five more candidates have filed for two seats on the council, while in Burnsville, 11 have declared their candidacy for the mayor's seat and two positions on the council. In cities that don't hold primary elections, the filing period doesn't open until July 31.

It isn't the first time Tilley and Fields have run unopposed, either. In 2008, both were the only candidates to file for election to the at-large council seats they held. Another Eagan resident, Joe Browner, ran a significant write-in campaign, but failed to unseat the two incumbents.

Tilley and Fields chalk up their uncontested runs to high council approval ratings among Eagan residents.

In 2010, a research company hired by the city to conduct a biennial survey asked a random sample of residents whether they approved of the council's performance.

Of those that responded, 91 percent said they approved or strongly approved the job the Council was doing at that time, while only 1 percent of those asked said they strongly disapprove.

That is one of the highest approval ratings for a council in the Twin Cities area, according to Eagan city officials

“I can’t explain the reason why we were unopposed, but I think people have seen how our council works together, and in the last several years, we’ve had some really astounding survey results on how the community views us as a council," Fields said.

But high approval ratings haven't prevented multiple candidates from challenging other members of the council.

In 2010, the same year of the survey, two newcomers filed for seats held by incumbents Gary Hansen and Paul Bakken. Browner also returned to challenge Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire for his position.

No matter what's behind Field and Tilley's electoral circumstances, the two say they're happy to continue serving the city.

“I think we have people [on the council] who are dedicated to the city, like Cyndee and myself," Tilley said. "I think we're cohesive, and we’re all on the same page," Tilley said.