Like then-Gov. Bill Clinton of Arkansas, Eliot Glassheim lost his first bid for re-election.
And as happened with Clinton, the experience for Glassheim made all the difference.
Glassheim was elected to the North Dakota House in 1974, lost his re-election bid in 1976, was defeated again in 1978 -- and then turned those losses into one of the most remarkable political careers in Grand Forks history.
Glassheim got elected to the Grand Forks City Council in 1982. In 1992, he won the election that had eluded him twice before, winning a seat in the North Dakota House.
He has served in both bodies ever since. Earlier this week, he served his last full day on the City Council, having chosen not to run for re-election after being a council member for 30 years.
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His departure and that of Curt Kreun -- also a House and longtime council member -- mark the end of an era for the council. Glassheim and Kreun both brought knowledge, civility and consummate goodwill to the council, winning the trust and respect of their fellow members as well as their constituents. They'll truly be missed.
At age 32, Clinton was elected governor of Arkansas but was defeated two years later, becoming, as he used to joke, the youngest ex-governor in American history. But he learned from the experience: He moved toward the political center and pretty much stayed there, eventually winning back the governor's seat and from there, the presidency.
Glassheim came to much the same realization after his early House defeats. He came at politics with "a new lawmaking approach," the Bismarck Tribune reported in a 1997 profile.
"I really thought I was going to make a difference in the world and make the world better," he told the Tribune of his first House stint.
"I noticed, 'What are the programs we want?' I didn't notice the cost."
The Glassheim who eventually won House and City Council seats had moderated his liberal views. "I have Democratic goals, but I have Republican means," meaning a clear recognition of the need for spending restraint, Glassheim told the Tribune.
Likewise, "I see myself as being for reasonable regulations," he said. "An enlightened business person wants what's best for their employee."
On the council, while Glassheim always approached taxation with great care, he also didn't hesitate to speak up on behalf of the city's poor and dispossessed. The thoughtful balance served the city, the council and his constituents well.
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Kreun, for his part, served for several terms on the East Grand Forks School Board before running for and winning election to the City Council. His careful study and detailed knowledge of technical issues as the Grand Forks landfill prompted observers - including his fellow council members and the Herald's editorial board -- to give his council decisions great weight.
One other observation about both Kreun and Glassheim: Neither had backgrounds that would entitle them to join Grand Forks' "old boys' network." Glassheim is a Jew from New York in a state full of native-born Catholics and Lutherans, as the Tribune profile noted. Kreun is an educator who wound up owning a day-care center, not an obvious "ticket to the top."
But both men earned their way into positions of civic respect by dint of their humor, honesty and hard work. Again, they'll be missed.
-- Tom Dennis for the Herald
