Nikkie Gullickson claimed a spot in a crowded eight-way race for two Fargo City Commission seats on June 9. She earned the second most votes.
Originally from Wahpeton, Gullickson has lived and worked in Fargo for over 35 years, along with her husband, three children and their dogs. A (John) Maxwell Certified Leader currently serving her second term as a member of the Fargo Public Schools Board of Education, Gullickson has built a long corporate career in the area. In addition to being a licensed insurance agent, she previously worked at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota in many capacities including as account manager in the government contracts division. Later, Gullickson worked in communications for the company now known as Doosan Bobcat. She has also worked for Sanford Health in a couple different roles.
Gullickson was first elected to the Fargo School Board in 2020 and reelected in 2024. She plans to keep her board seat through 2028 while simultaneously serving on the city commission — a rare, but not unprecedented dual role. Gullickson has also served as vice president of the Fargo Public Schools Development Foundation Board.
On March 25, Gullickson entered the wide-open race to fill the seats being vacated by commissioners Denise Kolpack and Dave Piepkorn, both of whom were running for the open mayor seat. In a nail-biter, Gullickson squeaked by former city commissioner Tony Gehrig late in the count to earn second place with 17 percent of the vote. She was joined by top vote-getter Chad Peterson on a commission that, as of swearing in on July 6 by Cass County Judge Stephen Dawson, has three new members, including newly elected Mayor Josh Boschee.
As a part-time commissioner, Gullickson will make nearly $31,000 a year. Her arrival on the commission comes as Fargo faces a possible governance overhaul. There’s a petition drive to shift the city from at-large voting to a six-ward council system. If this change is validated and approved by voters, it could trigger a special election reshaping how commissioners like her are elected in the future.
The High Plains Reader reached Gullickson over the Fourth of July holiday, right before she was sworn in. She talked about her priorities and how she plans to lead the city with her heart, her soul and her head.
High Plains Reader: To what do you credit your victory?
Nikki Gullickson: People getting out and voting. That would be the first thing. Second thing, I’d like to think people are wanting to bring the temperature down just a little bit and be respectful and collaborative at the table when we’re making decisions for our city.
HPR: How do you think your experience on the Fargo School Board prepares you for the job of city commissioner?
NG: Well, a lot of the work that we do on the school board is very similar; it parallels, in many ways, what we do at the city. We at the school board oversee the superintendent and he makes the day-to-day, deeply ingrained decisions.
It’s kind of similar, but we all work as a team at the city. So the mayor is actually an equal partner at the city — at least the way it is now, until we look at wards. We also hear reports from departments and we use that information to make informed decisions. We hear from our departments and we try to arrive at a decision that makes the most sense for the city.
Likewise, budgeting, finances — they all work in a similar way. The people who are the experts and do the day-to-day work present to the mayor and the mayor presents to us. And then we work as a team, we review it, we ask questions and we make decisions based on the information brought forth. So many things are very parallel.
HPR: So you have two new commissioners and a new mayor. How do you think that will help as far as changing the tone at city hall and what’s achievable in the first six months to a year at the city?
NG: Well, I think the tone at the table will change a little bit because we have several people who want to be collaborative, work together, work with the data, the numbers, the information and not so much on the emotion of what’s going on. I think there are similarities in thought.
Everybody wants to be fiscally responsible, we want to make the best decisions possible for the most people possible. We want to take care of our citizens and set our city up to succeed. I think we have a majority of people who believe the same way on the board. Actually I’m going to rephrase that, because I think everyone on the commission wants that. It’s just a matter of how we get there. Different people have different experiences, different thoughts. We’ll get there.
HPR: You are planning to keep your school board seat until 2028. How do you plan to manage the time demands of the school versus the city?
NG: Well, the city is going to have to be the first priority. However, some things have changed at the school board and my load has been lightened a bit there, freeing up a little more time to be able to give to the city.
They are both part-time roles and both have meetings that pop up periodically. Both have scheduled meetings and right now, none of them compete. So the available time that I have, I can do the research for whichever organization I need to to prepare for those meetings.
HPR: Do you support a switch to the ward system as opposed to the at-large system?
NG: Right now, I am weighing both sides. There are pros and cons to each system. I would be happy to see a couple more voices come to the table. I think more voices brings a broader perspective and would serve us well when we’re making decisions for the city. I’m not 100 percent sure about the switch to wards. I’m learning more about it. I know many of our neighbors use it. I feel like what we have has been working relatively well and perhaps simply adding two more commissioners might be a good first step, but I am looking forward to people who do have solid opinions on it weighing in. I’m anxious to see what the voters want.
HPR: So what would you consider your top priorities as a Fargo city commissioner?
NG: Well a few things compete for that top slot. One of them is, we need to make sure that we are budgeting appropriately and fulfilling the needs of what our citizens want.
And one of those things top and front and center is safety. We want to make sure we’re doing the best we can there with the dollars we have available. Those are probably the top two.
HPR: As far as special assessments and the budget deficit, how do you plan to tackle those issues?
NG: I do plan for us to dig in and have some good conversations about the dollars that we’re spending, where we’re spending them, does it make sense to spend them there, or are we better to redirect. We’re a growing city, we are going to have debt, but if it can be appropriately managed, I’m not so worried about it. I don’t want to be reckless; we want to be smart, we want to be strategic.
HPR: As far as the needle exchange program and working on the unhoused problem, how do you plan to address these issues?
NG: I think that’s going to be two hot topics that we’ll probably need to deal with very quickly, that will rise to the top. I believe Mayor Boschee mentioned during his campaigns he wanted to put together a task force to work on the homeless situation and I have been having some conversations with Fargo Cass Public Health regarding the needle exchange program and some changes we need to make there.
We want to see some positive changes; we want to help those folks as best we can without creating further issues for our community. And I think we’ll find the balance.
HPR: Compared to commissioner Chad Peterson, who is a self-described conservative, people have put you in the liberal category. Do you consider that fair or do you think it doesn’t even matter because city issues are non-partisan?
NG: I’d like to think it doesn’t matter because city issues are supposed to be non-partisan. I care about all the causes, but I also care about the responsible use of the money we are spending. We do need to represent our entire community and I don’t like the idea that anybody holding these seats is operating in a political mindset one way or the other.
We need to look at the information in front of us. We need to look at the cause. We need to look at the effect. And we need to make the best decision possible.
HPR: Finally, what would a successful term as Fargo City Commissioner look like for you?
NG: For us, it would be in two to four years discussing some of the same topics we are today, but in a proactive way instead of a reactive way. Or perhaps not even to have to discuss them at all. But if we are, from a different angle.
HPR: What else would you like to add that I didn’t think to ask?
NG: I will serve this city that I am so very proud of with my heart, my soul and my head.
