Thompson promises to restore autonomy to city gov't

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

NEW ULM -- City council candidate Ben Thompson said he'll work to try to restore what he called the city's "sovereignty and autonomy" at a meeting he held Thursday night.

Thompson held what he called a "town hall meeting" in the meeting room at the New Ulm Public Library to explain his positions to potential voters. He said he'd canvassed most of the Second Ward and handed out some 1,200 invitations to residents there.

Only two people attended the meeting -- a Journal reporter and a woman who later said she was the wife of New Ulm City Councilor Ron Fleischman, the incumbent whom Thompson is challenging in the Second Ward.

This new campaign marks Thompson's latest attempt to return to politics. He ran for a spot on the New Ulm Board of Education in 1998 but lost even though he captured about 1,200 votes.

The race proved an embarassment for Thompson after The Journal reported his record as a convicted sexual offender. He pled guilty in 1984 in Stearns County to two counts of sexual misconduct and served time in a Minnesota state prison for sexually assaulting two teenage girls.

Following Thompson's failed run for school board, the state passed legislation prohibiting sexual offenders from serving on school boards in the state.

Thompson said that restoring the sovreignity and autonomy of New Ulm city government is the "umbrella issue" on which he's basing his campaign. He said improvements to city streets and alleys and the addition of more sidewalks are his top issues. He said he'd also like to see improvements to city parks as long as they don't require the city to become dependent upon the state.

"I'm not running against any person," Thompson said. "I'm running for an issue."

The issue, as Thompson sees it, is people losing the courage of their convictions. He said most in city government "are good people" but are afraid of the federal and state governments. He called the income tax unconstitutional, saying the federal government only has the right to tax people indirectly through things like sales taxes. Thompson said he thinks cities should do what's best for them "unless the state and federal governments have a consitutional right to tell you what to do."

"People are losing their sense of responsibility," he said. "We're paying 52 percent of our income to taxes."

He was quick to add that he's not looking to start a revolution on a federal level, but thinks a revolution needs to happen on both a state and local level.

"This is a town full of wonderful people, but I think they're kind of like sheep," he said.

Thompson said he held the meeting because he wants to educate people about the U.S. Consitution and get feedback from residents of the Second Ward.