JILL SCHRAMM/MDN Minot mayoral candidate Josiah Roise, left, speaks at a media event in Minot City Hall Friday, March 13, with city council candidate David Wiley, right. They announced they are running as a ticket in the June city election.

Former Minot mayoral candidate Josiah Roise announced his intention to make another run at a news conference Friday, March 13.

Offering similar but more defined objectives in his second campaign, Roise is running jointly with David Wiley, a military veteran and musician who also announced Friday his campaign for a Minot City Council seat in the June 9 city election. Roise said a third member of the ticket will announce plans to run for the council at a later date.

Roise had sought the mayor’s seat in a special election last August. Mark Jantzer, who had long served on the council, topped the four candidates in the race with 42.6% of the vote. He is seeking reelection in June.

“I’m not running to manage the status quo. I’m running to change it,” Roise said.

“For too long, decisions have been driven by bureaucracy, special interests and backroom deals, instead of the people who actually live, work and raise their families here. That needs to change,” he said. “My campaign is built on a simple idea: Local government should serve the citizens, protect their rights and live within its means. That’s what the constitutional platform is about.”

Wiley agreed more decision-making needs to be returned to the people. He said he believes in basic government that provides services people need, but he doesn’t support requiring residents to pay for nonessentials. He said the essence of his campaign will be how to keep money in the taxpayers’ pockets.

“I want to do something that will empower the people,” Wiley said.

Roise outlined four points he and ticket will focus on if elected.

“First, we restore fiscal accountability. Every tax dollar you send to City Hall should be treated with respect. That means line item budget reviews, a zero-based budgeting approach and hard caps on spending increases, so government grows slower than your paycheck,” he said. “It means full transparency in city contracts, so you can see where your money is actually going and who is benefiting from it.

“Second, we must defend property rights,” he said, noting he will oppose eminent domain for private gain and will push to streamline zoning and permitting.

“Third, we must refocus Minot on essential city services. Before we chase the next shiny project, we must make sure that we are fixing the roads, maintaining infrastructure and appropriately funding police and fire,” Roise said. “We need to streamline the city administration, cut wasteful discretionary spending and stop acting like City Hall is a bank for every idea that sounds good but doesn’t really serve our core functions.”

His fourth point centers on fighting for limited constitutional government, which he defined as auditing departments for overreach, eliminating unnecessary local regulations and keeping the city out of people’s private lives and businesses.

“Finally, I will insist on resident-centered decision making. Minot doesn’t belong to the insiders, the well connected or those who can hire lobbyists,” he said. “It belongs to we the people.”

Roise said, as mayor, he would hold regular town hall meetings and prioritize citizen input on every project. He suggested the city do more to publicize and take public input on the flood protection project, possibly even letting people vote on it.

Roise, a Minot native, operates a Minot rain gutter business and is chair of a newly organized Minot Young Republicans chapter.

Wiley is retired from the U.S. Army, having served with the 101st Airborne Division. A native of Minot, he returned in 2001 and worked as a mechanic for a time. He earned a psychology degree from Minot State University, served as president of his condo association and has taught private music lessons.

Wiley said government needs fewer politicians and more ordinary people.

“I don’t consider myself an expert in any kind of political affairs. I don’t want to be. I consider myself an average person, and I think that should qualify anyone to come in. I want to listen to the people,” he said. “Government is supposed to be a servant, not a master.”

Roise said more detailed positions on plans for the city will be released later. However, he said the ticket has a budget proposal it is refining that would shave $6 million from the city’s current budget.