Ashley Grimm will retain her seat on the St. Louis County Board of Commissioners representing the 3rd district.

Duluth City Councilwoman Janet Kennedy challenged her for the position.

The 3rd District Commissioner represents the southern edge of St. Louis County, the neighborhoods that run along the St. Louis River. It’s a nonpartisan race, which Grimm said made it a little more difficult to get his message out in a presidential election year.

“What we do locally affects our lives perhaps more than any other position, especially the county,” he said. “And so it was amazing to be able to talk about the investments we’ve made in the western half of Duluth, the improvements we’ve made in mental health and this future vision of what we can really do in our communities.”

Grimm won the seat in 2020 with 55 percent of the vote, to Joe Macor’s 45 percent. He ran for re-election based on what he called “historic levels of county investment in western Duluth neighborhoods.”

Kennedy currently represents District 5, west Duluth, on the Duluth City Council and has done so since 2020. She was re-elected in 2023 and her term on the council expires on January 3, 2028. She said she is running for the council board county to foster better communication and leadership in the community.