Joseph McCabe (Mayor of St. James, Minnesota, candidate 2024)

Joseph McCabe

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Nonpartisan

Candidate, Mayor of St. James

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Mankato State College, 1970

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Army

Years of service

1970 - 1972

Personal

Religion

Catholic

Profession

CEO

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Joseph McCabe ran for election to the Mayor of St. James in Minnesota. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.^[source]

McCabe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Joseph McCabe provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 7, 2024:

• Birth date: December 6, 1948
• High school: Madelia High School
• Bachelor's: Mankato State College, 1970
• Military service: United States Army, 1970-1972
• Gender: Male
• Religion: Catholic
• Profession: CEO
• Incumbent officeholder: No
• Campaign slogan: Bad Officials are elected by good citizens - who fail to vote!

Elections

General election

General election for Mayor of St. James

Joseph McCabe and Christopher Michael Whitehead ran in the general election for Mayor of St. James on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Joseph McCabe (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Christopher Michael Whitehead (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for McCabe in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joseph McCabe completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McCabe's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am Joe McCabe, a resident of St. James since 2006 aat which time I was hired as City Manager. I retired i in 2016 and was hired as the Executive D irector of the Chamber of Commerce. I am running of Mayor as an opportunity to thank the community for allowing me to serve them for ten years. I have a broad background which may benefit the city government. I was city administrator in Madelia for over 20 years, ten years as city manager in St. James and interim city administrator in Mountain Lake for one year. I also served as interim city administrator and EDA director in St. James for a period of time. I am a member of St. James Lions Club and St. James Rotary. I am involved in the weekend backpack program, St. James Opera House Restoration Project, on the board of the St. James HRA, and Beyond the Yellow Ribbon. As a retired individual I am readily available to serve the community and look forward to working with the city council for the betterment of St. James.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Knowledgeable about city government. Want to work with the city council as they set policies for the betterment of the community.
• Ambulance services are not only important for our community, but also for the area. I want to work with the Minnesota Legislature to designate local ambulance services as essential services for local governments.
• Ashbore disease is affecting not only trees on city property but also private property. Would like explore how the city can work with those property owners that have diseased trees so that they can afford to have those trees removed.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Areas that affect day to day life for the residents.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I look up to my parents (who are now deceased). They set the foundation for how I live my life.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

no.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Honesty and open government with excellent communication with residents.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Honesty, willingness to listen, compassionate.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Become knowledgeable about the policies they are setting prior to voting on an issue. Not just rubber stamp what is requested by staff.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I did the best that I was able to do.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Being drafted with a draft number of 10. I was 18 years of age at the time

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Delivering newspapers. Had the job for about ten years.

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Tomorrow from Annie.

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Health issues from Agent Orange.

A mayor is a leader in his or her city. What does that mean to you?

St. James has a weak mayor form of government. So I feel that the duty of the mayor is to provide positive leadership at all times.

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

Support the staff when they need support and support the city council when they need support.

What do you love most about your city?

The diversity and the willingness of a small group of individuals that are willing to be forward looking and willing to work on projects that benefit the community.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Be willing to live with the budget and have the professional staff and volunteers to carry out the mission of the city.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the state government?

State Government that understands that we are not a cookie cutter society. What works in Minneapolis may not work in St. James as they set policy.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between your city and the federal government?

Unfortunately the majority of the federal programs are funneled through the state and we have very little input.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the mayor's office and law enforcement?

I am very proud of our law enforcement and will make every effort to make sure that we have an adequate law enforcement with the resources that they need to do their job.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Citizens need to be involved in the budget process. Government funds are a public trust and should be viewed by staff as if it is money coming into their pockets to be used for the public good.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

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