Digital marketing executive Ryan Kulka and City Council Member Tim Busse will face each other in the Bloomington mayoral race this fall, after finishing first and second in the city's primary election Tuesday.
Only 38 votes separated Kulka and Busse, with Kulka winning 38.5% percent of the vote and Busse winning 37.9%. The winner in the November election will succeed Mayor Gene Winstead, who decided not to seek re-election after 20 years in office.
The other three candidates in the five-person field were Dan Niziolek, deputy director of St. Paul's Department of Safety and Inspections, who captured 18.6% of the vote; legal secretary Sharon Christensen, 4.2%; and businessman Rainer Einsmann, less than 1%.
Kulka owns Social Boom, a Bloomington-based digital marketing company, and has partnered with former Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway to create Gray Duck Vodka. Busse has served on the City Council since 2012.
In primary races for the City Council, Jenna Carter and Brian Clemens were the top finishers for an at-large seat, and Dwayne Lowman and Al Noard were the top votegetters for the First District council seat.
Katy Read
