Joseph Petersen (Owatonna City Council At-large, Minnesota, candidate 2024)

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Joseph Petersen

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Owatonna City Council At-large

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Owatonna High School

Personal

Birthplace

Owatonna, MN

Profession

Counselor

Joseph Petersen (also known as Joe P.) ran for election to the Owatonna City Council At-large in Minnesota. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.^[source]

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

Biography

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

• Birth date: October 12, 1954
• Birth place: Owatonna, Minnesota
• High school: Owatonna High School
• Bachelor's: Minnesota State-Mankato, 2008
• Gender: Male
• Profession: Counselor
• Incumbent officeholder: No

Elections

General election

General election for Owatonna City Council At-large

Marc Boyett, Mark Breon, Joseph Petersen, and Douglas D. Voss ran in the general election for Owatonna City Council At-large on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Marc Boyett (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Mark Breon (Nonpartisan)
		Joseph Petersen (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Douglas D. Voss (Nonpartisan)

---

	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 Petersen in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joseph Petersen completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Petersen's responses.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I was born and raised in Owatonna, graduating from OHS in 1973. I spent the next 10 years traveling around the US, working in the food service or auto repair industry and learning about various lifestyles.

Believing this community was the best place to raise my family, I moved back to Owatonna in 1984. While my four children were in school

I worked in restaurant management for two years and went back to automotive repair until 1989. I also worked for KRFO radio for over four years as a weekend DJ. In 1989 I was hired by Federated Insurance where I then spent the next eighteen years, leaving in 2007 and returned to college.

In 2008 I graduated from Minnesota State-Mankato with a BS degree in Addiction Studies. I then passed the Licensed Alcohol Drug Counselor exams. I began my career working in Inpatient and Outpatient drug and alcohol treatment programs. In 2016 I was hired by Freeborn County to do state mandated Rule 25 assessments where I retired from in December 2023.

After 10 months of retirement, I saw a need within the community for school bus drivers. I successfully obtained my Class B CDL with a school bus endorsement and now drive a large bus for the Owatonna Bus Company.

I am a member of the Senior Center, 20 Rifle and Pistol Club and a life member of the Owatonna Gun Club. I enjoy riding motorcycle and going on long hikes in various national parks. You may often see my wife and I out on the Owatonna trail system walking our three dogs.

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?

• Even/Odd street parking in the winter directly impacts those with lower income and have no off street parking. I say no snow=no tickets. There are also an number of other ordinances dealing with people parking on their own property that need a serious look at.
• City owns and mows lots of parks and property. That is a waste of taxpayer money. All the lots should be sold for development or in the meantime converted into prairie restoration areas that are filled with wildflowers and are sanctuary's for bee's butterfly's and birds. Many of these lots could also be used for community gardens.
• I believe the most important city employees are the ones doing the actual work, not those on the administrative end. Limit the government power. Term limits on all elected positions. There are also many decision making positions that could be filled with an artificial intelligence as a means of cutting expenses.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Downtown development and parking. I believe if we are going to have large parking lots they should be covered with solar panels and the electricity generated used to lower the average citizens expenses. The Owatonna Public Utilities already provides free services to all the public buildings at the taxpayers expense, lets reduce that cost.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Grass root involvement of the citizens making ordinances to govern themselves.

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

My dad. He spent 35 years in law enforcement and never arrested a minor. He always made the minor tell their parents what they had done and then would have the parents discipline their own child.

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

Jordan Peterson: 12 Rules for Life

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

Honest, trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly courteous, kind, thrifty and have a real desire to do what is best for the community. Have the ability to non-judgmentally investigate all sides of any situation and draw conclusions based on facts instead of feelings. Be willing to have real transparency with the public.

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

Honest, open minded and willing to listen to all sides before making any decision.

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

Serve the public good without trampling on individual rights.

What legacy would you like to leave?

He was a straight shooter. Kind most of the time, but tough when he had to be making the hard decisions.

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

The assassination of President Kennedy in November 1963, when I was nine years old.

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

My first hourly job was working in a service station at age 14. I worked there until I graduated from high school four years later.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Victor Frankel-Mans search for meaning.

Title says it all.

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Reality is good enough for me.

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

What a beautiful world- Louie Armstrong

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

I had a problem with alcohol in my younger days. Now will celebrate 25 years of sobriety before the end of 2024.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No-There should be term limits on all elected positions. People in long term positions of power are not going to make it easy for them to be booted from power.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Have a great bull crap detector.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the local government?

Creating local ordinances that can adversely affect the lives of struggling citizens.

Tell us your favorite joke.

You hear about the woman who was addicted to line dancing? They put her in a two-step program.

What are your views on financial transparency and government accountability?

Government spending should not exceed income from taxes. Taxes should not be raised to support government spending.

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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