Jill Schramm/MDN Minot mayoral candidate Paul Pitner speaks at a candidate forum sponsored by Minot Area Chamber EDC June 25.

Mayoral candidate Paul Pitner wants residents and visitors to view Minot as a place of opportunity.

An advocate for economic development, he said he would continue to support the efforts he began when first elected to the Minot City Council seven years ago.

“It’s been more than a buzz word for me,” said Pitner, who will face two other council members, Mark Jantzer and Rob Fuller, along with Josiah Roise in the Aug. 5 election.

Pitner, 36, who operates a rain gutter business, grew up in Minot, leaving the community after high school.

“I had no intention of ever moving back,” he said. “I moved back here because of an opportunity with the (oil) boom and I started

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