SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – The June 2 primary is a week away. While South Dakota voters will be casting votes for statewide and national races, Sioux Falls residents can also weigh in on the city council election. It was originally set for April but was postponed, along with the school board election, due to the pandemic.

Sioux Falls City Council members make decisions about the city’s future.

Two candidates are running to fill an at-large seat on the council.

Theresa Stehly is the incumbent. Alex Jensen is challenging her.

Stehly has served on the council for the last four years, but says her public service work started long before that.

“I come from a wealth of citizen involvement, I’ve cared about the community, I’ve led the petition drive on snow gates, to help save an outdoor pool experience for children,” candidate, Theresa Stehly said. “I will continue to work to represent the citizens, putting their interests first, involving them, listening to them, and then working for policies that are going to benefit the citizens.”

Currently Jensen works as a business banker. In the past, he spent time representing Sioux Falls in the state legislature.

“I was put in the appropriations committee by the speaker of the house, and what I learned on appropriations is that policy is really driven by the dollars and cents, and in a time where our sales tax revenue is going to go down, we need someone who has the ability and the budget integrity to continue making this city a strong and safe place for families to live,” candidate Alex Jensen said.

Stehly says one of the things she will focus on is protecting the taxpayer.

“We’re going to need people who have fiscal wisdom in dealing with this pandemic recovery, we have been working very hard on the council with the mayor, and the health department, and the medical community to ensure that we are protecting people’s lives and their livelihoods,” Stehly said.

Jensen says he will prioritize things like public safety and budget integrity.

“We will be transparent to the taxpayers and we will squeeze every dollar to make certain that we have a good return on the taxpayer’s dollars, and we will always focus on that,” Jensen said.

The at large seat on the city council is something all Sioux Falls voters decide on, that’s why these two are hoping for your vote in the upcoming election.

“I am passionate for our people, I am so grateful for the wonderful folks I’ve met through the years, and especially the last four years on the council, and I look forward to serving people, caring about people, and doing everything I can as an average person to give those people in our town a seat at the council table,” Stehly said.

“I think that through the relationships that I’ve already built in Sioux Falls, and the ones we can continue to build, that’s going to be really good for economic development, I think if we work as a team as a council, with my background and my experience that we’ve talked about, I believe that we can improve the council immediately,” Jensen said.

Tune in Wednesday night for a closer look at the two candidates running for the northwest district of the city.