BROOKINGS – Local barber Don Diamond says he’s joining the Brookings mayoral race, intending to work to make Brookings a more attractive destination for workers and young families as well as to be an advocate for affordable housing.

“The problem as I see it, the housing market here is a great market, but unfortunately, it’s a sellers market, straight up. When you have the jobs that you have here – 3M, Daktronics and Bel Brands, which are the big companies here – they’re all factory type jobs. So you have those types of jobs but those wages don’t match you being able to afford a home here,” Diamond said.

Providing amenities and recreation that the town’s young families can enjoy will help retain workers and create a better sense of community, too.

“Brookings is a really nice community and Brookings is a smaller city, but you kind of get that small town feel and get that sense of home here. I think it’s a place people would enjoy being as long as they had more things to do,” he said. “That’s the biggest complaint that I hear: Brookings is boring, but I like it. That’s the way the conversation goes.”

The trick is to give them something to do here, rather than leaving to spend their dollars in Sioux Falls or elsewhere. Public events like Downtown at Sundown go a long way in that regard, and more in that vein should be done, he argued.

Through his barbershop, Avenue D Barbers, he comes into contact daily with a diverse sampling of the community, from college students to lifelong residents, and hears their needs.

“I’m outspoken enough to speak up for the people, and I’m not afraid to say what I need to say or what I want to say. It’s just one of those things about being a genuine person and having a love for the community you’re in and wanting that community to succeed and be better,” Diamond said. “Brookings is a growing community, and it always will be because of the college and because of the safety here.”

He’s come a long way from his native Detroit to Minneapolis and finally to Brookings four years ago. Having owned his own businesses through the years, running for mayor seemed like a good next step to him.

The city-school election is April 11. The last day to register to vote is March 27.

Candidates have until 5 p.m. Feb. 24 to file their completed nominating petitions.

Thus far, Brookings Deputy Mayor Keith Corbett and Brookings City Councilor Patty Bacon are in the running for mayor, a one-year term.

Two three-year terms are also opening on the Brookings City Council, currently held by Ope Niemeyer and Dan Hansen. So far, Hansen has filed his petitions and is seeking re-election to the council.

Brookings School District voters will chose one school board member. The three-year position is now held by Larry Rogers.