Terry Bjerke, former Grand Forks City Council member, to run for County Commission

Joshua Irvine, Grand Forks Herald
·2 min read

Feb. 5—GRAND FORKS — Former Grand Forks City Council member Terry Bjerke is running for a seat on the County Commission.

Bjerke represented Ward 1 in Grand Forks from 2000 to 2002 and then from 2008 to 2016 before stepping away for an unsuccessful run for mayor in 2016. He announced his candidacy to the Herald in a Monday morning email.

"There has been a complete failure to properly manage the taxpayers' money and the public infrastructure under the control of the County Commission," Bjerke wrote. "I will never vote for a county sales tax. I will never vote to raise property taxes. I will vigorously defend the citizens' personal liberties and their property rights."

Speaking to the Herald, Bjerke cited rising property taxes and issues with public infrastructure as the reasons for his candidacy, pointing to proposed and ongoing spending on repairs to the county parking ramp and courthouse and the expansion to the county correctional center.

He says if elected he will push to freeze and then cut property taxes and work to aggressively cut the county budget.

"While people are struggling to pay their groceries, the county is hitting them with a tax increase every year," Bjerke said.

Bjerke was known as an opponent of tax increases and increased city spending during his time in office. In 2018, he left Grand Forks, his home of 40 years, to live outside Manvel, North Dakota, citing lower taxes and less regulation in the county.

He was vocal opponent of the proposal to adopt a countywide half-cent sales tax in 2022, a measure that ultimately failed.

Bjerke is running to unseat either Commissioner David Engen or Cynthia Pic, saying their voting records ran contrary to his budget goals.

A nominating election for the two open commission seats will take place on June 11, County Auditor Debbie Nelson said, while up to four candidates from that election will progress to the general election Nov. 5.

Commissioners are elected to four-year terms. Commissioners Kimberly Hagen, Mark Rustad and Bob Rost were elected to their current terms in 2022.

Candidates must submit paperwork, including at least 300 signatures, by April 8. According to Nelson, no candidates have submitted that paperwork at this time.