Jan. 10—ELGIN, Minn. — Elgin Mayor Tim Boardman embodied many of the virtues of a small-town leader: Friendly, gregarious and unpretentious. Boardman was an approachable figure who tirelessly promoted this bedroom community of 1,200 people.
So it was an emotional gut punch for community members to learn that Boardman, 49, had died on Friday, Jan. 10, 2025, so soon after beginning a second term as mayor. The exact cause of death was unclear, but Boardman had been battling leukemia for some time, an official said.
The sense of loss was all deeper in a community where the mayor is not some distant figure but a person well-known to almost everyone and not just as a mayor but as a family man and a regular guy.
Boardman cared about Elgin, he enjoyed being mayor, and he reveled in its rituals and festivals. A picture posted on the city’s Facebook page showed Boardman, outfitted in a casual striped shirt and hat emblazoned with the American flag, happily tossing out candy in the back of a pickup truck during its annual Cheese Day parade.
In the last election, Boardman won in a landslide with 73% of the vote in a four-candidate race.
“The thing about (Tim) was he was liked by everybody,” said Kevin Keilholtz, a city council member and acting mayor. “He just always had a smile on his face. He was very approachable.”
Boardman had served on Elgin’s City Council for six years before being elected to a first two-year term and then re-elected last November. He was a project superintendent for the Rochester construction company A.B. Systems, Inc.
Boardman was known as an energetic advocate for Elgin, pursuing businesses, talking up the city to business leaders, pushing for expanded housing and promoting a new building for its fire and ambulance services.
“He was very passionate about making that happen,” Keilholtz said about securing a new emergency services building for the community. “He won’t be around to see it happen, but he will be a big part of it.”
Boardman had missed City Council meetings because of his illness. In one of his last meetings with Keilholtz, Boardman told him that his cancer had come back but that he had been accepted into a trial program at the University of Minnesota. He was never not talking about and planning for the future.
So there was a strong sense of empathy welling up in the community for his family. Boardman leaves behind his wife Alison and two daughters.
“I go down and get coffee every morning,” Keilholtz said. “The first thing, I walked in the door this morning and there’s two individuals there that wanted to talk about it.”
He said he talked to Boardman right before the last City Council meeting. He was in the hospital. He wanted to make sure that he passed along to the council his gratitude for all the work and contributions of city workers and council members. He didn’t mention one thing about being sick, he said.
“It’s not about the length of term. It’s not about any of that stuff. It’s about the fact that he was just a really good guy,” Keilholtz said.
He said finding a mayoral successor will be something to be discussed in consultations with the city attorney but that will wait until after the funeral.
The city’s Facebook page noted that his memory would live on: “Mayor Boardman was not just a leader, but a friend and guiding light for so many of us. His legacy of kindness, vision and public service will live on in every corner of our community. We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and loved ones during this difficult time. … You will be missed, but never forgotten.”