Petersburg’s municipal election is next month. Several candidates are running for seats on the Petersburg Borough Assembly.
Don Koenigs, age 87, is running for a 1-year term.
Koenigs has lived in Petersburg since the early 70s. He served in various positions in local office over the years, including a brief stint in the early 90s as interim city manager, Petersburg’s mayor in the early 80s, as well as a council member before the Borough formed.
In a phone interview with KFSK’s Olivia Rose, Koenigs shared why he’s running for election to the Borough Assembly.
Listen here:
Petersburg’s municipal election is Oct. 6. The Assembly is the only contested race. There are two 3-year positions, and a single 1-year term, up for election this fall.
Of the six candidates, two people, including Koenigs, are running for the 1-year seat. The challenger candidate is 61-year-old incumbent Scott Newman.
Find interviews with all the Assembly candidates and more election info on KFSK’s Voter Guide. Early voting starts Sept. 16.
Local newsrooms, KFSK and the Petersburg Pilot, are hosting a Petersburg Borough Assembly candidate forum tonight, 6-8 p.m. in the Assembly Chambers, upstairs in the municipal building. Reporters will ask the candidates questions during the first hour. The second hour of the forum is for questions from the live audience. Koenigs is currently out of town and unable to attend virtually.
This forum is open to the public, and KFSK will broadcast it live.
TRANSCRIPT:
This interview transcript has been lightly edited for clarity.
KOENIGS: I still have my faculties about me, I think. And, well, I see where the Assembly has been managing its affairs over the years, and I have great interest in the community.
I’ve spent pretty much all my time in Petersburg in public service one way or the other. And I want to bring more openness, more transparency, than what I see being manifested at this particular point in time.
ROSE: What have you done in the past that makes you qualified for the role?
KOENIGS: Well, if you go back in the records, you will look and see that I started out when I first came to the community. I’m a service-oriented person, because of my spiritual upbringing, we’re called to serve others. And so anyway, I have a background of experience. But my real interest is in a good dialogue within the community over whatever issue the community is facing. Whatever’s going on, I would like to be part of that discussion.
ROSE: Okay. What would your priorities be if you were elected to the Assembly?
KOENIGS: Well, my priorities would be transparency. If you’ve been here you know I sued the city, and they weren’t very transparent when I asked them for information, and I prevailed in that lawsuit.
So anyway, that’s just one aspect of my personality. If I believe that there’s injustices, whether it’s within the city or defense of an employee, or whatever, I will speak out and seek what I believe is to be right and fair.
Having said that, what’s really important, I served on the Assembly, was elected, but I was a lone wolf. I couldn’t get a second. So I just said, ‘This is ridiculous. If people don’t wanna talk then I won’t be a part of it.’ And I would say the same today if I were elected, quite frankly, and I couldn’t get a second, then that serves no purpose.
I’m willing to listen to anyone. Let’s talk about it. That’s the openness that I look for in a government.
ROSE: Okay. Can you tell me about a time, one time, you think the Assembly got something right in the last year or so, maybe something you agree with?
KOENIGS: Well, no, I can’t really. I wish that there would be more dialogue on community involvement. I think they conduct their meetings, and they take testimony from the community. But I think there should be more community involvement, more advisory, before they move forward in their decision-making process.
ROSE: Okay. No issues come to mind though, specifically? I just wanna make sure that you understood the question.
KOENIGS: Yeah. Nothing in particular that comes to mind. And overall, I think that the openness of the meetings, I mean, they were elected to make decisions, and I think they’ve been doing that.
They function as an entity. And each and every one of those individuals spends time and effort — take time away from your family and to do public service, whether you agree or disagree with them, that in itself is commendable.
ROSE: My next question is: What about a time in the last year or so when the Assembly got something wrong, that you disagreed with?
KOENIGS: The cell towers. That’s an issue I think that could’ve been dealt with a little differently.
I think we kinda just get over hung up on communication, everything’s gotta be fast [with] service. My observation, personally, is sometimes things are better left in a way where you let ‘em gel a little bit, before you feel like you have to move forward. Take more time, get more public involvement. And that would be the same on most issues that are significant that affect the lives of individuals, their health and wellbeing.
So more public involvement. Try to open that dialogue up a little bit.
ROSE: In a nutshell, Don, what do you want for Petersburg?
KOENIGS: I want open, transparent government. Pure and simple.
I want to have a good dialogue, better dialogue, in the community between all representation. And sometimes it may be at the Assembly level, and sometimes we need to reach out to the public and then get advisory input.
My life is really focused on service, and maybe in my twilight years I might be able to add a little more to that.
Unfortunately, I will not be home for the candidates forum. Be that as it may, when I come home, I’ll take any question from anyone about anything. I’m more than willing to talk about it.
