Duluth Mayor-Elect Reinert On Inheriting 2024 Budget, Securing Leadership Team, Campaign Promises

DULUTH, Minn. – With one month to go before a change in office at Duluth City Hall, Duluth Mayor-Elect Roger Reinert is wrapping up his civilian life and securing a core leadership team to join him in January.  Beyond that, he told FOX 21 how he’ll handle inheriting Mayor Emily Larson’s budget for 2024, and he addressed his critics who say he’s over his head with unrealistic campaign promises. FOX 21’s Dan Hanger reports.

“I’m trying to wind down my law practice, move clients along, finish up the semester at Scholastica where I’m teaching,” Reinert explained.

And while Reinert doesn’t have the key to the city just yet, he’s already inside City Hall talking with department leaders to decide who he’ll keep, or who might be replaced.

“You can expect that there will be some leadership changes. This was a change election. And I need to have a team that’s going to be reflective, not only of the priorities I’m talking about but be willing to work with me and reflective of my values,” Reinert said.

Reinert’s core leadership team, as he calls it, includes city attorney, city administrator, police chief, fire chief, human rights officer, department directors, along with some support staff.

When that team is in place, Reinert says he’ll work with those leaders to decide how the city moves forward.

“So as we move through, will there be changes? Certainly. Is it going to be — everyone hand in your resignation? Absolutely not. You know, my training as a Navy officer, my training as a pilot, is you make small adjustments and you see how an organization the size of the city of Duluth responds to that, and then make additional adjustments as needed,” Reinert said.

But not everything is in Reinert’s control right now. Mayor Emily Larson has full power to appoint expiring seats on commissions and boards, such as the DECC. Reinert says he wants to make those decisions.

“I would like to not see the council approve appointments that are going to last my entire term, as one administration is going out the door and a new one is coming in. Because, obviously, the work we have to do is not just the work in City Hall, but it’s the work through all those boards and commissions as well. So ensuring that appointments there align with these conversations we just had with the community and what Duluthians expect from an election that clearly was about change,” Reinert explained.

And that change will take time. Reinert will be inheriting Larson’s budget next year. But he says there may be opportunities to bring a revised budget to the council.

“Because not only did we have a change in the Mayor’s Office, but of course, we have several new councilors who I think many of whom have a similar alignment around really wanting to see the city do city things and to emphasize those core to city services,” Reinert said.

It’s a next chapter in history for the city of Duluth that Reinert says will live up to his campaign promises — promises his critics have said aren’t realistic.

“I just strongly disagree. I mean, over promising on core city services? That’s what city government is about,” he said.

Reinert says he’ll find the money by growing the city’s checkbook rather than relying on St. Paul’s.

“We cannot be okay that LGA (Local Government Aid) is our number one source of revenue — that’s state aid — and it is up to the political whims of the Capitol. And not only is it our number one, it’s a third of our revenue. We don’t have the ability to generate that. We have to grow our commercial tax base. And the way we do that is by addressing … we’re a difficult place to do business. And whether people want to say that’s perception or reality, it is out there,” Reinert said.

FOX 21 reached out to Mayor Larson’s Office to see if she’ll replace expiring board or commission seats before leaving office. A spokesperson said they’d get an answer when Larson returns to the office later this week.

But either way, the council votes on mayoral appointments.  Council President Janet Kennedy and Vice President Roz Randorf told FOX 21 they’ll treat any item on the agenda before the inauguration as regular business and voting as usual.

What’s Next?

Jan. 2: Reinert, councilors sworn into office at City Hall

Jan. 8: A ceremonial first council meeting at the DECC, according to Reinert

Jan. 13: Inauguration party (location TBD)