Coughlin plans fiscally conservative approach

When he met for a chat with Burnsville Patch, Bill Coughlin had just spent three hours in the sweltering heat, going from house to house picking up campaign signs. Welcome to the glamorous world of public office.

But if Coughlin minded the extra work, he didn’t show it. He was still enjoying the glow of having won a seat on Burnsville’s city council the evening before, and if nothing else, picking up signs was an excuse to thank his supporters and say hello to his new constituents.

In a lightly attended special election that drew fewer than 5 percent of Burnsville’s residents, Coughlin won a seat on Burnsville’s city council Tuesday night over eight other candidates, prevailing with 57.9 percent of the vote. Coughlin took 1,708 of the 2,946 votes cast, almost three times as many as his nearest competitor. The open council seat was made available when council member Charlie Crichton died in March.

“When I heard they were going to hold a special election, I thought my conservative fiscal philosophy lined up well with (Crichton’s),” Coughlin said.

Coughlin will serve out the remainder of Crichton’s term, which expires at the end of 2014.

Coughlin, 56, admired Crichton, and intends to carry on a similar tradition of keeping a close eye on city budgets.

“Charlie was a principled guy,” said Coughlin. “I always voted for him because I agreed with his fiscal philosophy. I hope that I can continue to be that voice on the council.”

A general-practice attorney, Coughlin ran for public office once before, finishing fifth in a race for four open school board slots in the early 2000s. As part of the five-member council, he hopes to reach a goal in the next budget round of being able to increase the city’s budget without raising taxes

“It’s really just a zero-tax budget increase in 2012 that the city, based on 2009-10 structural changes, should be a in a position to do,” Coughlin said. “I think it’s reasonably do-able. Whether others agree with me is yet to be determined.”

Coughlin didn’t point to any specific areas that he thought could stand cutting, but feels as though his ideas should be able to gain traction in the council based on meetings with fellow council members Dan Kealey and Mary Sherry.

“I don’t know how much resistance I’ll find (among the council),” he said. “I still need to meet with Mayor (Elizabeth) Kautz and the rest of the council.”

Coughlin and wife Lisa have two kids in college and one in high school. Away from work, Coughlin’s passion is running, although the rigors of the recent campaign cut into his training time.

“In a perfect world, I would run six miles every other day,” he said. “During this campaign, I got to do a lot of walking and door-knocking, but not as much running as I would like.”

Coughlin plans to hit the ground running when his term officially opens at the council’s next meeting Monday evening.

“It’s going to be an honor to serve the citizens of Burnsville,” he said. “I don’t have a lot of objectives right now – I just want to start working and learning.”