At Tuesday’s Becker City Council meeting, Council Member Adam Oliver stunned his audience by stepping to the podium and declaring he was resigning his seat on council effective immediately.

 

Oliver — whose pragmatism was often called into question by Mayor Lefty Kleis — choked down tears and paused to compose himself several times as he delivered a short speech.

 

“I used to think it would take wild horses to force me to break my obligation to complete four years of service,” Oliver said. “And I can say that it isn’t taking wild horses to drag me away — instead, my wife received a diagnosis recently which suggests my family and I may have limited time remaining with her.”

 

Oliver went on to say he and his family are still trying to come to terms with the news, but one thing came clearly to his mind when the news hit home.

 

“I will not spend my time in meetings, discussions or researching city issues when that time could better be spent making more memories with her (Jennifer) and our daughters.”

 

Oliver is the father to three daughters and the husband to Jennifer, 32, who he calls his best friend. They were married in 2004 in a small ceremony and in 2005, they moved to Minnesota. When Oliver first considered running for a seat on council, he and Jennifer “had some long talks.”

 

“We both recognized there would be some long hours on my part, some added stress on our family and that would present a challenge to us as a family unit,” Oliver said. “After much discussion, we both agreed that if I felt called to try and serve the community with my gifts, then that is what I should do.”

 

Oliver believes a person cannot be successful in public office without the support of ones’ spouse.

 

Over the last 3-1/2 years Oliver has served on council, he recognized there were many challenges and opportunities for growth. He said he didn’t always see those challenges as opportunities, but he learned to recognize them as such.

 

“Interacting with a group of people whose only qualification for their position is the number of votes they received was sometimes a challenge,” said Oliver. “I turned that into an opportunity to grow myself — in my professional life I would never have surrounded myself with the exact group I found myself working with on council so I had to learn to work with folks as they were. Learn from their strengths and weaknesses and learn to trust people (or not) where there was minimal history between us.”

 

One of the things Oliver is most proud of in his term as council member is the LPI/City of Becker partnership on the industrial wastewater treatment plant.

 

“Though I can claim no specific influence, being part of a team that negotiated a complete refurbishment of our WWTF at zer cost to our taxpayers was very satisfying,” he said.

 

He was also proud of being part of the team that added a police officer to the BPD and the transition plan for Sherco.

 

“I’ve had the opportunity to look and be involved in discussions of Becker’s future after Sherco 1&2 and believe it or not, our future is bright!”

 

With the end of Oliver’s service to the city being so abrupt, his goal is to spend as much time with his family and his wife as he starts a new chapter in his life.

 

“At the end of my service with the city, I am able to look back at all my decisions and discussions and say, ‘I came through this period of time with my honor and integrity intact. In today’s age of political maneuvering, even on the local scale, I consider that a win.”

 

The Olivers are parents to Samantha (3-1/2 years old), Julianna (6) and Alexis (11).