Jill Schramm/MDN Rob Fuller, left, receives the oath of office, led by Chaplain Brian Walz, at a special city council meeting Monday.

Outgoing members of the Minot City Council left advice about leadership to three incoming members at a reorganizational meeting of the Minot City Council Monday.

Plaques and mayor’s coins were presented to departing members Scott Burlingame, who had been elected to serve the two years remaining in an unexpired term, and Stephan Podrygula, who had served since 2016 after previously serving from 1998-2002 and 2004-2008. Council member Carrie Evans was not present, but she also will receive a plaque for her four years of service.

Evans stepped down while Burlingame and Podrygula had sought reelection. Voters selected newcomers Rob Fuller, Mike Blessum and Scott Samuelson.

In offering a departing speech, Podrygula admonished the three new members who had campaigned on a “We Can Do Better Minot” message.

“While I agree with the three new members of the council that ‘We Can Do Better’ and there are important similarities between successful business and responsive government, I must point out there are also fundamental differences. For one thing, while the goal of business is generally to make a profit for its owners, the purpose of government is to serve the public in general. By necessity, a public servant has to focus on what is best for the entire community, not just one’s friends, political party or ideological allies.”

If too strongly tied to a political ideology, a council member won’t have the flexibility needed to function effectively and responsibly represent all the people, he said.

In addition, the influx of large sums of money into the political process can threaten the integrity of those in office and adversely affect their objectivity, Podrygula said. Citing the corrupting influence of large sums of money in a political campaign, he cited a local political action committee that raised more than $304,000 in the past couple of years. The business of one of the council candidates received more than $37,000 from the PAC, he said, and two individuals gave one candidate $7,000 in a single day.

“This is a lot of money. I think the average citizen will be surprised and probably disappointed to learn that ‘the swamp’ is seeping into our local politics,” Podrygula said. “Knowing that a person has given you this much money will undoubtedly influence your judgment.”

Blessum responded afterward that campaign finance laws were followed.

“People were investing in our campaign because they believe in the direction we were going,” Blessum said. “They believe in the vision we were casting, and I think people followed that up with their votes.”

He added the mission of the PAC is much larger than the city council race.

“It really has very little to do with this race. It had much more to do with what is going on around town and other opportunities to help people draw conclusions about who their candidates are,” he said. “This is local people investing in what they were looking for, for the future.”

Burlingame also spoke to encourage the new council members.

“We all have visions for success, and I will be hoping for everybody on this dais, whether they voted for me or whether or not they replaced me, I want to see you succeed because when you succeed, Minot succeeds, and that is something I care tremendously about,” Burlingame said.

The council elected Mark Jantzer as council president and Lisa Olson as vice president.

Jantzer won election despite the three new council members casting dissenting votes. Blessum explained the votes weren’t an objection to Jantzer, but they were hoping there first would be discussion about the new direction that voters were asking for.

“We all have to cooperate in the city’s business, and I’m certainly open to taking all the input and having all the conversation that we need,” Jantzer responded.