Carlton County Sheriff's Office deputy Mike Soderstrom can add "mayor" to his list of public roles. Soderstrom, who once served as a Carlton school board member, was the write-in choice for Carlton mayor in last week's general election.

"I guess enough of my friends and neighbors wanted me in there, so here's goes nothing," Soderstrom said. Twenty-three voters wrote his name in. The next highest tally was 14 for Ryan Spears.

Soderstrom's hesitation, with two young children and two adult children, has always been about sharing his time, he said. He was on the school board during its debt woe...