Editorial: Winds of change blowing in city

Red Wing City Council members and candidates — anyone running for a local office this fall, in fact — should look hard at the Tuesday's special election results and learn from them. Clearly, the messages of open, accountable government and fiscal responsibility resonated with voters.

Red Wing needs both. Lisa Bayley pledged to focus on both while tackling nuts-and-bolts issues, too.

We think this is one reason why Bayley soundly defeated three others to win the Ward 2 seat; she garnered more votes than the other three combined.

She pledged to listen to people, base her decisions on the facts, and take a broad, balanced look at the economic concerns facing Red Wing. Voters embraced her.

She had labor's endorsement and broad support in the business community. How did she manage that coup? Apparently because she knows that one of those groups can't succeed without the other, and she communicated that successfully.

We agree that Red Wing needs to integrate these groups. We also contend that the city needs to give employers — manufacturing, the service industry and commercial operations — what they need to thrive here. City Hall needs to remove barriers, real and perceived, to business relocation and growth. Only then will Red Wing and the people who live and work here grow, too.

This is fresh thinking for Red Wing.

Which brings us to what may be the election's most important point: People want change.

If you doubt that, keep in mind that two contenders have well-known Red Wing names, yet a relative newcomer overcame that hurdle through hard work and promises of innovation.

Ward 2 truly is a slice of city. Change is in the air, and that change could and should extend to our schools, county offices and maybe even beyond.

We welcome Bayley, a harbinger of change, to local leadership.

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