Shawn Blackburn (Stearns County Commissioner District 4, Minnesota, candidate 2025)

Ballotpedia does not currently maintain this page. Please contact us with any updates.

Shawn Blackburn

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Stearns County Commissioner District 4

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 12, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

St. Cloud State University, 1992

Personal

Birthplace

Chicago, IL

Religion

Christian

Profession

Customer Service

Shawn Blackburn ran in a special election to the Stearns County Commissioner District 4 in Minnesota. He was on the ballot in the special primary on August 12, 2025.^[source]

Blackburn completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Shawn Blackburn provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on July 8, 2025:

• Birth date: April 23, 1963
• Birth place: Chicago, Illinois
• High school: Pequot Lakes
• Bachelor's: St. Cloud State University, 1992
• Gender: Male
• Religion: Christian
• Profession: Customer Service
• Incumbent officeholder: No

Elections

General election

Special general election for Stearns County Commissioner District 4

Amin Ali and Bob Johnson ran in the special general election for Stearns County Commissioner District 4 on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Amin Ali (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Bob Johnson (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.

Nonpartisan primary election

Special nonpartisan primary for Stearns County Commissioner District 4

The following candidates ran in the special primary for Stearns County Commissioner District 4 on August 12, 2025.

		Candidate
	Submit photo	Amin Ali (Nonpartisan)
		Shawn Blackburn (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Darrell Bruestle (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Mike Conway (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Frank B. Imholte (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Bob Johnson (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 Blackburn in this election.

Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Shawn Blackburn completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Blackburn's responses.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm 62 and my wife and I have been residents of Waite Park, Mn. for 15 years. I am a two time graduate of St. Cloud State University. I have worked for Coborn's for 16 years. Mostly in Retail Liquor Management. I served 8 years on the Stearns County Planning Commission. Terming out as Chair of the Commission just this past January. Our biggest project being the creation of the 20 year Comprehensive Plan for the County which is used as a guide in policy and decision making for our future development. I also spent 5 years on the Waite Park Planning Commission. We also created a Comprehensive Plan for Waite Park's future. I had to resign from the Planning Commission as I was Elected to the Waite Park City Council 2022.

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?

• Being an author of both the Stearns County And Waite Park Comprehensive Plans gives me great insight into who we are and what we want to see happen in our community as we grow. I have found that my personal feelings very much align with those of our community as a whole when it comes to our growth and resource management.
• Much like most of the county I feel very strongly about our Shoreland Preservation, Water Resource Management, and Wetlands. We have gone to great lengths to set standards and rules for permeable surfaces, rain runoff ponds and many other areas
• While the subject of renewable energy is touchy to some, we, as a whole have decided that Solar is an Agricultural use of land. The technology and efficiency of solar power and it's components continues to improve. I feel strongly about not only the controlled growth of Solar but the fact that solar facilities are temporary. While the land under panels is relatively untouched and planted with local pollinators and native grasses during the life of the solar farm the land is in better condition for renewed faming after the solar parts are easily removed.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I stand firmly on our policy of controlled and reasonable growth. I will always put local community interests above corporate growth. I will always stand for the preservation of our natural and especially our water resources.

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

An elected official must be able to not just listen but to actually hear. They must be calm and fair in the heat of disagreement and the occasional argument. They must be able to stand their ground when defending their principles and those of their constituents.

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.

See also

2025 Elections

What's on the ballot? U.S. Congress special elections State executives State legislatures State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards Election analysis hub

Government

Who represents me? U.S. Congress State executives State legislators State courts Ballot measures Municipal government School boards

Newsletters

The Daily Brew The Weekly Brew The Ballot Bulletin Checks and Balances Economy and Society Hall Pass Number of the Day Robe & Gavel Union Station

External links

Search Google News for this topic