Kuhle beats Nelson by just 19 votes; incumbent mayor Oberloh re-elected

• Mike Kuhle

Mike Kuhle

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WORTHINGTON — Worthington Ward 2 Alderman Mike Kuhle narrowly survived a challenge from Roger Nelson in Tuesday’s election. Incumbent Kuhle received 790 votes, Nelson, 771 (50.32 to 49.11 percent of the vote with nine write-ins).

The contest was a rematch from four years ago, when Kuhle challenged then-incumbent Nelson, who had served 12 years on the Worthington City Council.

The margin of victory was slim for Kuhle, but Nelson indicated late Tuesday night he would be reluctant to challenge the outcome of the race.

“I simply appreciate the fact that I got the votes that I did, and I want to thank everyone who did vote, whether they voted for Mike or myself,” Nelson said. “Mike will do a good job.”

Worthington mayoral race

Alan Oberloh was re-elected to his third term as Worthington’s mayor, defeating challenger Carol Culver, 1,845 to 846.

Looking to the challenges ahead, Oberloh singled out being a steward of the city’s proceeds from the sale of the hospital as one his top priorities.

“Utilizing the proceeds from the sale of the hospital to serve the community in the best way possible,” he said. “And that is through endowments and ways this money will be sustained in the community for years to come. I, as well as the rest of the council, are very studious in what we do, and we want to be good stewards of the community’s money. The community built the hospital up over the years, and we want to be cautious with what we do with those proceeds. But one concern we have is Worthington sits on a large fund balance because of the sale, and that doesn’t reflect the property tax base this community has.”

But there are plenty of other challenges on the horizon for the city, Oberloh acknowledged, with a lot riding on who gets elected to the state level.

“My hope is we will come out with a legislature in a mood to get things done instead of sticking to partisan politics,” Oberloh said. “We definitely know it can’t be business as usual.”

Incumbent Alderman Ron Wood ran unopposed for his Ward 1 seat, collecting 952 votes, or 97.94 percent of the vote total; there were 20 write-in votes for the seat.

Tags: election 2010, worthington, news, oberloh, kuhle, politics, elections