New Jamestown mayor wants positive image for government

By: Toni Pirkl, The Jamestown Sun  

For newly elected Mayor Katie Andersen, this is the first job she’s had that actually corresponds to her political science degree.

The 28-year-old Andersen is only the second woman to be mayor of Jamestown. It wasn’t a job she expected to have, at least not yet. When Clarice Liechty opted not to run for re-election, Andersen told people someone should run for the office of mayor, someone new, fresh.

“I just kept saying somebody should, until people finally said that somebody should be me,” she said. “I always thought that someday I’d do something in government, perhaps running for elected office.”

Andersen had an interest in government and politics in high school, but a political science major wasn’t her first choice in college. A 1999 graduate of Jamestown High School, Andersen chose South Dakota State University in Brookings, S.D., she said, because of its strong programs in pharmacy and music.

“My goal in getting a pharmacy degree was lobbying for a pharmaceutical company, but I found pharmacy boring,” Andersen said. “My elective classes were in political science so I ended up with a political science major with electives in organic chemistry.”

Andersen’s background is even more diversified than her college choices. Her family moved to Jamestown from Yankton, S.D., when she was in the eighth grade. She said she didn’t mind the move because Jamestown had a more advanced gymnastics program than Yankton. As a gymnast, she competed for JHS for four years.

It’s been a lifelong love for her. She added coaching to competing in high school then coached in college. After college, she coached in Jamestown and Valley City’s varsity gymnastics team. Now she’s a judge.

“Gymnastics is so good for your body. It builds strength, agility, flexibility,” she said. “It combines everything athletic with the artistry of dance.”

Andersen was also in choir and played trumpet in the high school’s marching band. Now she sticks to singing in the church choir and at weddings and funerals.

When she switched majors at SDSU, Andersen’s intention was to go to law school. After graduation, she had about a year before she could go and figured she’d keep waiting tables at Perkins Family Restaurant in Brookings. She was offered and accepted a job as assistant manager of Perkins in Fargo and for a couple of years that was her career.

Andersen said she took three months off from the Perkins job to act as secretary for the Senate and House Appropriations committees at the South Dakota Legislature. She had interned in the Legislature during college.

In the end, she never made it to law school. Instead she started coaching gymnastics in Jamestown then in Valley City, traveling back and forth to work in Fargo. During that time she met and married Ryan, and had a son, Camron, now 4 years old. She also got her real estate license.

“Then three years ago in November, we bought (Martinizing) Dry Cleaning,” she said.

Andersen brings her varied background as well as her political science degree to her new job. She believes her experiences give her what’s needed in the mayor’s position. And she knows what she wants for Jamestown.

“I want a positive image for city government,” she said. “My strength is public speaking so I can be a good voice for the city. The mayor is an ambassador.”

It’s also a leadership position, she said, one that encourages debate and discussion, so residents know the ins and outs of the decisions. She said a difference of opinion doesn’t have to be a fight.

“People thought there was too much divisiveness on the council,” she said. “I want people feeling confident that we make decisions based on information and discussion.”

She intends to speak to service groups, clubs — anywhere she’s invited — on the issues facing the community.

“We have important decisions to make regarding infrastructure, which will affect everyone in the future,” she said. “I think it’s the job of the mayor to talk about all the things that are happening — to get the information out there.”

Most importantly Andersen wants to see Jamestown grow and that, she said, requires planning — long range and strategic. Planning has not been a hallmark of previous councils. Andersen said too much decision making was crisis-oriented, particularly in infrastructure.

“We need to be proactive in our management of utilities,” she said. “Not a lot of planning went into it before.”

The issues need planning and buy-in from residents, she said, especially regarding development. With the Jamestown Regional Medical Center only a year away from opening, development in that area is assured.

“The hospital is happening. At this point, we’re still behind the ball in planning,” she said.

But for now, Andersen said she is studying.

“I’ve been learning the history of the ongoing issues, so we can make informed decisions,” she said.

Sun reporter Toni Pirkl can be reached at (701) 952-8453 or by e-mail at tonip@jamestownsun.com