Not every candidate preaching fear and loathing of Muslims and refugees was swept into office Tuesday. Anti-refugee demagogue Bob Enos lost his bid for Willmar City Council to civic-minded long-term Willmar resident Fernando Alvarado.
In the West Central Tribune, Shelby Lindrud reports in Alvarado defeats Enos in Willmar Ward 3 race:
The decision in Ward 3 has been made, with voters choosing Fernando Alvarado over Bob Enos to sit on the Willmar City Council.
The vote tally was 1,151 for Fernando and 678 for Enos.
Alvarado will replace Councilman Steve Ahmann, who decided to seek election to the Kandiyohi County Board.
Ward 3 contains most of downtown Willmar and eastward along U.S. Highway 12, ending at U.S. Highway 71.
Alvarado moved to Willmar 30 years ago, after serving in the United States Navy and attending Mankato State. He has worked as a claims representative for Auto-Owners Insurance for over 20 years.
Enos moved to Willmar from the East Coast in 2008. He is the primary caregiver for his disabled brother. Enos has worked in public administration and as a consultant.
Enos lost decisively in all three precincts in Ward 3; although he received more votes than in his failed 2014 bid, given the larger turnout for the presidential election, he nonetheless received a smaller percentage of the vote than he did in 2014 (36.71 percent in 2016 to 37.32 percent in 2014).
In July 2015, Bluestem reported Rejected by Willmar voters but shared by Draz & Bennett: Bob Enos continues anti-refugee rants. Since then, Enos has taken his message on the road--traveling to St. Cloud and Aberdeen, South Dakota, to tell anyone who would listen what an awful place Willmar is.
According an endorsement of Enos's bid by Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, Enos had given him the idea for his failed bill and amendment that would require an audit of private non-profits that had aided refugee resettlement efforts:
“I first learned about Bob Enos after watching his presentation to the Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners on refugee resettlement. He came to Saint Paul to present the facts to a number of us legislators. I was so impressed with his analysis of the situation that I took up his recommendation to craft a bill to audit the finances of the refugee resettlement program in Minnesota. He’ll fight the good fight for his constituents!”
Bluestem looked at the floor debate over the Drazkowski amendment in A look at the floor debate: non-profit refugee resettlement program audit amendment fails. Willmar-area Republican state representative Dave Baker, who was re-elected on Tuesday, voted against the proposal.
Photo: Bob Enos, who is popular among xenophobes and Islamophobes, but Willmar voters, not so much.
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