Mayoral candidates:
Could you tell our citizens/taxpayers how you feel about Ellen Kehr’s SHIP coordinator paid county job and being a city councilwoman? Do you feel that there is a conflict of interest or not?
Even though the Tribune is a member of the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, I was wanting more answers from the Tribune on this issue. Where is this money?
The SHIP grant is $190,000; if you go to
www.healthyfreeborncounty.org, only $8,300 has been spelled out.
In the near future, another mayoral forum will be held, but the chamber decides what questions are worthy. Somehow, I don’t think it was wrong to ask at the last forum whether or not the executive director, Randy Kehr, and his wife’s numerous positions are conflicts of interest. Hopefully, the editor will allow the question here.
Is this right? What will you, if anything, do about it if elected as mayor? In Mr. Mike Murtaugh’s case, why wasn’t anything done?
Points to ponder for the citizens, taxpayers and mayoral candidates:
• The city statute statement that was used as a reason for Kehr to keep her position as a city councilwoman and/or SHIP coordinator for the county was written and hasn’t been amended since 1979. It mentions nothing about county jobs or county positions.
• Both Randy Kehr and
Lois Ahern (who hired the unqualified Kehr being paid $22 per hour due to who she knows rather than interviewing anyone else for the position) are both on the Vitality Team, which can also apply for grants in which Ellen Kehr decides on.
• Ellen Kehr is the wife of the executive director of the Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Kehr is president of ALEDA and the Port Authority, which Dan Dorman proclaims that these two are not the same entity. There needs to be more transparency about these roles.
Tonya Lynch
Albert Lea
I thought that the community deserves a response to some of the issues raised here.
The Chamber does sponsor various forums for political races as a service to the community just as we sponsor the 3rd of July Parade, the 4th of July Fireworks, the 3rd Grade Farm Tours and the Farm Family of the Year. Community members who attended or watched the recent forum for the Sheriff’s candidates saw that I was seated in the middle of the candidates and far removed from the moderator. Every question from the audience was given to the moderator. The moderator (and all moderators over the years) have had the right to combine similar questions.
For the last 10 years, however, the moderators have been told that they do not have to ask questions of a personal nature nor one that they deem offensive. 
I do not know if this particular question was asked since I never saw them
but I do know that we ran out of time with many questions going unasked.
I do serve on the Board of Directors of the National Vitality Center but neither Lois Ahern or Ellen are on that Board.
As Lois leads Public Health in Freeborn County she often attends to offer her insight and Ellen attends as the SHIP representative. Neither of them have a vote. The Vitality Center posts a newsletter on its website and the community is encouraged to go there to see what’s happening with this important project. Just visit healthyfreeborncounty.org and click on the Vitality Center.
The organizations that Ellen and I belong to
definitely share a common mission.(safe wording, I would call it "conflicts of interest"
)That mission is to work for a better quality of life for the citizens of Albert Lea and Freeborn County. I am proud to be part of trying to make this a better place to live and work.
Still wondering WHY Randy Kehr is doing Ellen Kehr's work and she's getting paid almost $25/hr for 
as shown numerous times, it's Randy Kehr that sits on every board in this town, as leader. 