10 | FRIDAY, JANUARY 16, 2026 THE LIFE
Schulte elected county board chairperson for 2026
PETER BODLEY Contributing writer
Scott Schulte was elected chairperson of the Anoka County Board for 2026 during the board’ s organizational meeting Jan. 6, returning to a leadership role he previously held from mid-2019 through 2022.
Schulte replaces Mike Gamache, who served as chairperson in 2024 and 2025.
The vote was 6-1,
Schulte
with Jeff Reinert opposed. Reinert said he could not support Schulte“ because of dishonesty and corruption in the past.”
By the same 6-1 vote, Mandy Meisner was elected vice chairperson, marking her first year in that role. Reinert, who had served as vice chairperson for the past three years, also voted no.
Schulte has served on the county board since 2013 and represents portions of Andover, Anoka and Coon Rapids. Meisner has been on the board since 2019 and represents Columbia Heights, Fridley and Hilltop.
Thanking board members for their support, Schulte said unity will be a top priority in 2026 as the board faces what he described as“ heavy issues.”
“ There have been divisions on this board, and I take responsibility for some of that,” Schulte said.“ It’ s important to me— and to Anoka County right now— that we work together.”
Later, during chair’ s remarks at the regular meeting, Schulte reiterated that goal, saying he wanted to be part of the solution as the county takes on new challenges in the coming year.
“ The board has been divided, and I’ ve been part of that,” Schulte said. He added that while broader society is often split along partisan lines, county government is nonpartisan and commissioners must put aside party labels to focus on solutions.
Schulte said he governs as a conservative, while Meisner is“ a DFLer and proud of it,” but said recent meetings and work sessions have focused on creating a new leadership model that emphasizes collaboration.
“ We have been working to create a new leadership model,” Schulte said.“ If we work together, that can be done.”
A key part of that model includes rotating the board chairperson and committee assignments annually, allowing commissioners to know their roles well in advance.
Meisner said she and Gamache have attempted to implement a rotating chairperson model in the past but encountered
political challenges.“ What attracted me to run for the county board was that it’ s a nonpartisan office,” Meisner said.“ I’ m beholden to voters, not a party. But the reality is there have been underpinnings of parties in county government.”
“ We need to set aside labels as a way to solve problems,” she added.“ I am thrilled to be part of bipartisan leadership.”
Gamache said he looks forward to working with Schulte and Meisner and continuing efforts to formalize a rotating chairperson policy. He also praised the board’ s 2025 adoption of a committeesof-the-whole structure, which includes all commissioners rather than smaller subgroups.
“ It has been very helpful because it has got everyone involved,” Gamache said.
As part of the organizational meeting, the board approved changes to its rules of procedure for 2026 that shift committee assignments away from the chairperson’ s discretion. Under the new policy, commissioners and commissioners-elect negotiate standing and special committee responsibilities in December for approval at the organizational meeting.
The board now operates five committees of the whole, each with designated lead commissioners.
Meisner serves as lead commissioner for human services and management,
while Julie Braastad leads the public safety committee. The transportation-parks committee has two leads: John Heinrich for transportation and Reinert for parks.
The government operations committee includes 10 topic areas with designated leads, including facilities management and construction, license and passport services, and property records and taxation, all led by Schulte. Other leads include Lori Jeppson for finance, library services and more, Gamache for information technology, Braastad for several public-facing functions, and Reinert for airport and veterans services.
Four special committee chairpersons were also named: Reinert for airport; Schulte for benefits and compensation and investment review; and Braastad for internal audit.
Following the regular meeting, commissioners held organizational meetings for the Anoka County Regional Rail Authority and the Anoka County Housing and Redevelopment Authority, on which all commissioners serve.
Schulte was re-elected chairperson of the regional rail authority, with Meisner as vice chairperson, Jeppson as secretary and Reinert as treasurer. The housing and redevelopment authority re-elected Gamache as chairperson, Jeppson as vice chairperson and Reinert as secretary-treasurer.
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