Glassheim decides 30 years on Grand Forks council enough

The longest-serving member of the Grand Forks City Council announced late Wednesday that he will not seek another term in June.

"It's been 30 years, and I think I wanted a little more free time," Eliot Glassheim said in an interview today. "I've been wrestling with it for more than a year."

He represents Ward 3 in the city's north end, which includes the Riverside and Near North neighborhoods, downtown and the near south side.

Glassheim, who turns 74 Friday, said he would like to travel with his wife, Dyan Rey, visit his grandchildren more often and work on writing projects.

A District 18 Democratic representative since 1993, he said he would seek another term in the Legislature.

Making Grand Forks home

Glassheim moved to Grand Forks in 1971 to take a one-year job at UND but the New York City native found a home for himself here.

"I just kept staying," he said. "I kind of feel like I belong here."

He said he became involved in community affairs with a north side neighborhood organization and first ran for council in 1974. He lost by a handful of votes, but caught the attention of local Democrats.

"They were so pleased that I'd done so well as a newcomer to town," Glassheim said.

He won a state House seat that year but held it only one term. He eventually won a seat on the council in 1982 and a seat in the Legislature in 1992 and held on to both.

Glassheim is the council's vice president and serves on its Finance and Development, Growth Fund and Legislative committees; the Mayor's Cabinet on Young People, The Grand Forks Library Board and the Immigration Integration Initiative.

He is the owner of Dr. Eliot's Twice Sold Tales, a used book seller, and has worked as a policy analyst for Northern Great Plains, a grant writer for the North Dakota Museum of Art and an office manager for former Sen. Quentin Burdick.

Collaborative style

Glassheim described his job as a council member as being "to encourage and guide and nudge" and attributed his accomplishments on the council to collaboration with others. In an interview and in his retirement announcement, he cited his work on recovery from the 1997 flood, preserving bus and recycling services, helping keep Wilder Elementary School and Riverside Pool open and supporting the Near North Neighborhood Association. All three are in his ward.

"In my time on the council, I have been guided not by what I wanted personally but by what seemed best for the city of Grand Forks and the people of my ward," he said in his announcement.

His time in city government also included some frustrations, he acknowledged.

"A disappointment certainly was the library vote," he said, referring to the defeat last year of a sales tax for the construction of a new library.

In his announcement, he wrote that he worries Grand Forks' growth was outpaced by other North Dakota cities and hoped the city could increase UND's contributions to the local economy.

A self-described economic conservative, he said he also disliked a "constant negativity" by council member Terry Bjerke of Ward 1 on spending issues, which he called "an irritant."

In 2000, Glassheim lost a three-way race for mayor with incumbent Pat Owens and Mike Brown, who won.

"I think I would've been pretty good. You just never know what would've happened," he said, adding that he did not think about it much.

Will miss council

Glassheim said he enjoyed the challenge of solving problems as a city leader and liked the camaraderie of the council and the days when members adjourned to the Hub Bar after meetings.

"What am I going to do on Monday nights now?" he said. "Being an outsider, maybe I can come to meetings and complain."

Brown praised Glassheim's contributions.

"They should make a statue for Eliot," he said.

Glassheim said he was encouraged by younger "civic-minded, articulate and imaginative" leaders in his north side ward and was optimistic he would leave the ward to a capable successor.

"I think everybody's replaceable. You do your service and someone else can do it, too," he said when asked about his legacy. "A year later, who know? Maybe it's 'Eliot who?'"

Reach Bjorke at (701) 780-1117; (800) 477-6572, ext. 117; or send e-mail to cbjorke@gfherald.com .