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I was shocked to read in the July 30-31 edition of the Albert Lea Tribune the words of Nick Ronnenberg, who is running for a position on the city council. He must have been referring to my wife and I specifically when he was quoted as saying, “I’ve literally had people talk about getting taxed right out of their house.” We used those exact words when we went to the assessor’s office and talked to Mr. Ronnenberg this past spring about the 180% increase that his office placed on our 110-year-old home when nothing had been done to improve the property in over a decade. But what really shocked me is what the Tribune quoted Mr. Ronnenberg as saying next: “I think what we need to do is grow the tax base so that we can take pressure off the career homeowners that we have.” Say what? Wow. That was not the attitude we received from Mr. Ronnenberg. Instead, he rudely refused to take seriously any evidence we tried to point out that could correct the value of our house, and then even more rudely attempted to intimidate us using words that are not fit to be repeated. Appalled at his lack of professionalism and dismayed over his lack of problem-solving skills, we took our concerns to the County Board of Evaluation where our complaint was legitimized and resolved to our full satisfaction. At that hearing we learned we were not alone in frustrations exacerbated by Mr. Ronnenberg. While people were lined up at the hearing to appeal, I can’t help but wonder about all those who might have been too intimidated by Mr. Ronnenberg to ever come forward. If this is an example of how Mr. Ronnenberg intends to serve this community, I shudder to think of what will happen should he ever gain a position of more power. When I go to the polls, I vote for the candidate who is most likely be part of the solution, not the one creating the problems. How will you vote?

Steven J. Carlson

Albert Lea