Residents of townships in Minnesota will gather in mid-March in an annual rite of grass-roots democracy: the annual meeting.

Two of the six Washington County townships — May and West Lakeland — also are holding elections on March 11; Baytown, Denmark, Grey Cloud Island and Stillwater townships held their elections in November.

In May Township, Town Board Chairman John Pazlar is running for re-election, and he’s facing a challenger for the first time since 2013.

West Lakeland Township Supervisor Philip Moosbrugger is running unopposed.

Absentee voting started Friday. Voters can request an absentee ballot by mail or vote in person at the Washington County Government Center in Stillwater.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. March 11 at May Town Hall, and the annual meeting will be at 8:15 p.m. Polls will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at West Lakeland Town Hall, with the annual meeting at 8:30 p.m.

May Township

Pazlar, 61, has served on the town board since 1999. Prior to that, he served on the May Township Planning Commission for a year.

A senior vice president at U.S. Bank, Pazlar said he decided to run for another term to “continue to support the township’s long-standing goals of maintaining our rural nature, minimizing excessive regulation and taxes, providing timely and respectful responses to citizen calls and concerns, and also continuing to support agriculture, equine, hobby farmers, small businesses, and elementary schools.”

He said his 26 years of experience on the board and his professional background “provide the skills needed to continue to lead in a way that helps maintain the rural residential nature of the township.”

“This is especially important in recent years as we see increasing pressure from developers and commercial/institutional entities,” he said. “It’s not uncommon to be spending 10-15 hours per week working on various township related issues and duties.”

Pazlar is married and has three stepchildren.

Pazlar’s challenger is Ashley Kluge, 33, a commercial property manager with Kraus Anderson.

Kluge, who has lived in May Township for about three years, grew up in Andover and Forest Lake. She graduated from Century College in White Bear Lake with an associate’s degree in business.

Kluge, who is married and has two stepchildren, said there was not a major issue that sparked her interest in running.

“I started attending the meetings in the past, and I just started noticing that some of the locals might have their voices heard,” she said.

She said she wants to work to keep the township’s rural character.

“I love it here,” she said. “I’m a biker, so before I even moved out here, I would bike in the area. It’s just a beautiful place to live. It’s a great place to raise a family, and I would love to keep it the way it is.”