LISTEN: Dave Piepkorn’s conversation with The Flag’s Steve Hallstrom
FARGO, N.D. – After 18 years on the Fargo City Commission, Dave Piepkorn announced he’s running for mayor.
“We had a Moody’s downgrade with our debt. That’s going to be my first priority is to restore our balance sheet because that’s critical,” Piepkorn said on “The Steve Hallstrom Show” on The Flag. “The next one is we’ve been soft on crime and our downtown has paid the consequences. We’re down huge numbers in a loss of businesses and a loss of jobs. All it takes is the right leadership and we can change this and start winning again.
Piepkorn said there’s a simple way to figure out his platforms.
“If people want to know what I am, what kind of mayor I’ll be, just look at my track record of voting. Don’t necessarily listen to what I say. Look how I voted and I’ll stand on that record,” Piepkorn explained.
Election Day is June 9.
In 2022, Piepkorn was stripped of his deputy mayor title by the City Commission. Commissioner John Strand and former Commissioner Arlette Preston called Piepkorn’s behavior “derogatory and abusive” following comments he made regarding the Downtown Engagement Center and the removal of park benches within the downtown area.
“A very intoxicated Native American sleeping right next to my building, so I called 911,” said Piepkorn during a city commission meeting.
Piepkorn addressed criticism that he’s been too abrasive.
“I went to a dermatologist. He says I have unusually thick skin. I tell the truth, I do my homework and I do my best. You may not like some of the ways I say things, but usually they’re pretty accurate,” Piepkorn said.
Other candidates running for Fargo mayor are Deputy Mayor Denise Kolpack, Dem-NPL State Senator Josh Boschee and National Guardsman Jake Coulter.
Piepkorn was a captain of the 1983 North Dakota State football team that won the NCAA Division II National Championship. Piepkorn was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, but was cut during training camp.
