Thursday, November 8, 2012
Ted Bearth will be sworn in on Jan. 8, 2012; Bill Pulkrabek plans for the future.
After 13 years, there will be a new county commissioner representing District 2 of Washington County. Longtime Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek was defeated by challenger Ted Bearth—the results came in early Wednesday morning, with Bearth taking 52 percent of the vote to 47 percent for Pulkrabek. Pulkrabek, 42, has served as a county commissioner since 1999. Before that he was the mayor of Oakdale from 1995 to 1998, a title he received in his mid-20s. Bearth said he has been encouraged to run for the Washington County Board since he first retired from the city council in 2004, but he often dismissed the idea and opted for retirement instead. "It finally got to the point where I was unhappy with what we got so I decided I …
Thursday, July 12, 2012
The county commissioner says “Washington County is in stellar financial shape, and will continue to be for years to come.”
You can’t read a newspaper or watch a news program now without seeing a story about the imminent financial collapse of a government entity. Whether the city of Detroit, the state of California or the European Union, the fiscal forecasts are bleak. Common threads emerge amongst government entities in dire financial straits: Not on our watch. I am honored and proud to represent Washington County. Due to decisive, long-term actions by past and current county commissioners and a top-notch staff, Washington County is in stellar financial shape, and will continue to be for years to come. The county’s total expenditures dropped 4.6 percent from 2011 to 2012 ($181.7 million to $173.4 million). Total expenditures for 2012 are less than they were …
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Meanwhile, former Oakdale mayor Ted Bearth announced his candidacy for the District 2 seat on the Washington County Board.
Former Oakdale mayors Ted Bearth and Bill Pulkrabek have both said they plan to seek the District 2 seat on the Washington County Board this fall. Current commissioner Pulkrabek said he plans to move into the district—which includes Oakdale, Landfall and the northwest corner of Woodbury—in June or July. During redistricting in April, Pulkrabek’s residence was drawn out of District 2. Pulkrabek has been on the Washington County Board since 1998, and he was the mayor of Oakdale for three years before that, according to the Washington County website. Following the redistricting, Pulkrabek was considering staying in Woodbury to face sitting Commissioner Lisa Weik. Ted Bearth spent 26 years as either an Oakdale City Council member or mayor, he …
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek says he’s gotten calls from people encouraging him stay and run against Commissioner Lisa Weik this fall.
Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek says he doesn’t necessarily oppose a new district map that puts his home outside of Oakdale’s district and into one shared with Woodbury Commissioner Lisa Weik, but he does oppose how it came about. “It’s just more upsetting to me that we’ve had a process we followed. We’ve been working on it for months,” he told Patch. “We were all in agreement. Then Gary (Kriesel) and Lisa (Weik) basically show up and stab you in the back.” The county board on April 10 had informally agreed on a redistricting plan, choosing from five options, he said. But the board switched gears Tuesday and approved an entirely new plan, with Pulkrabek being the lone vote against. The new plan was based on maps emailed out …
The Washington County Board set new commissioner boundaries Tuesday.
Woodbury will be represented by three Washington County commissioners starting in 2013. The Washington County Board on Tuesday set new commissioner boundaries to reflect population changes from the 2010 Census. The redrawn District 5 includes the bulk of Woodbury, with the northwestern part of the city in District 2 and the southwestern part of the city in District 4. (See the map with this story and specific precincts below.) For Woodbury, the concern was never the number of commissioners who would represent the city, rather it was that the city wanted more time to weigh in on the proposals, Mayor Mary Giuliani Stephens said. The city held a workshop on county redistricting the Wednesday before Tuesday’s county board vote. “There really …
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
An Alford plea isn't admitting guilt, it merely acknowledges that there may be enough evidence to convict.
Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct while using a legal maneuver known as an Alford plea Wednesday afternoon before a Chisago County Judge. He was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $285 for his role in a May 30 incident in a Woodbury home. The victim will be able to seek restitution for 30 days, and Pulkrabek was also ordered to take an anger-management course, which his attorney said he has already completed. Pulkrabek was arrested on May 30 and charged with misdemeanor domestic assault after his girlfriend accused him of throwing her on the bed by her hair, holding his forearm over her neck so she couldn't breathe and pulling her down the stairs by her hair at a …
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault in connection with a May 30 incident in Woodbury.
A Chisago County District Court judge continued to Jan. 25 the hearing for accused Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek. Pulkrabek's defense attorney Ryan Kaess told Patch that this morning's step was nothing more than a "simple continuance." As reported on Oakdale Patch on May 31, 2011, Pulkrabek was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic assault in connection with a May 30 incident at the 10900 block of Oak Grove Circle in Woodbury. Pulkrabek allegedly threw his Woodbury girlfriend on a bed by her hair, held his forearm over her neck so she couldn't breathe and pulled her down a flight of stairs by her hair. He has maintained his innocence. Pulkrabek's hearing was moved to Chisago County, under Judge John McBride, to …
Friday, September 9, 2011
The Washington County Commissioner who represents parts of Woodbury chimes in on the city’s decision to leave the library system—and the looming impacts.
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Friday, September 9, 2011
On June 29, the Lake Elmo mayor and City Council surprisingly voted to secede from the Washington County Library system. This unprecedented and drastic move marks the only time that a city has ever disaffiliated from the library system. If the city does not reconsider by Sept. 13—preliminary budgets are then set—it will have far-reaching, unfavorable consequences for Lake Elmo residents. I hope the mayor will reconsider. A stated justification for the city’s rogue action is the reduction of hours (28 to 20) at the Lake Elmo Library in 2009. It should be noted that several county branch libraries experienced a reduction in hours in 2009. This countywide cost savings measure has not affected check-out rates, which still remain low. The …
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek said he wanted to wait to give his report until Commissioner Dennis Hegberg was present.
Disagreement about follow-up reports from the National Association of Counties conference broke out between Washington County Board members at the July 26 meeting. Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek declined to give a report on his participation in the conference, saying he wanted to wait until Commissioner Dennis Hegberg was present. (Hegberg, who also attended the conference, was absent from the meeting due to a death in the family.) Meanwhile, Commissioner Autumn Lehrke gave a report on the sessions she sat in on at the national conference in Portland, OR. Because three commissioners attended the conference, the board's July 19 meeting was canceled. Commissioner Lisa Weik, who did not attend the conference, said she didn't see why Pulkrabek …
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Commissioners who argued that three board members don't need to go to a Portland, OR, conference were outvoted.
Two Washington County commissioners who questioned the timing of sending three commissioners to an out-of-state conference in July were outvoted Tuesday, following a heated discussion. Commissioners Lisa Weik and Gary Kriesel said only two board members should attend the National Association of Counties' Portland, OR, conference to cut costs and prevent having to cancel the July 19 board meeting due to lack of a quorum. With an impending state government shutdown and tight budgets, they argued it’s bad timing to cancel the meeting and spend money unnecessarily. “Just because we’ve budgeted something doesn’t mean we need to spend it,” said Weik, who represents most of Woodbury. Autumn Lehrke—who along with Dennis Hegberg and Bill Pulkrabek …
Thor Zippadelli
9:55 pm on Saturday, December 22, 2012
Ya Bill....First of all , Ted will do more in 6 mos. then you did on your entire time served...you are and were an embarrasment to your position and you lost because of the fact that you assaulted a female....which you still havent taken responsibility for....The free ride is over Billy Boy , as is your power trip, talk about a waste of taxpayer money...you are the poster boy for that category! … more ›