With a city's unique taxing and zoning tools in mind, my top priority is to use those tools to eliminate barriers to enter the housing market for first time home buyers and individuals who are on a fixed income.
Protecting and preserving the American Dream of owning a home should be the foundation of any candidate's platform in 2026, as housing unnafordabilty plagues governments and economies across the nation.
I also desire to increase civic engagement throughout all ages across the city.
The city needs to cast a wide net, and include as many stakeholders as possible, when formulating tax, zoning, and permitting/licensing policy for residents and businesses coming into the city.
As developable land opens to the NW/SW of I94, due to the completion of the FM diversion project, the city needs to protect and thoughtfully plan commercial corridors to help alleviate residential property tax pressure.
Remove as much red tape, as reasonably possible. Continue to provide economic incentives and abatements, as long as those tools don't materially affect the city's general budget.
Without a doubt. Inflation across all sectors of the economy are currently exceeding 3% on a much larger scale, especially in the commodities market.
With that in mind, it will be challenging to continue the city's trajectory without some fundamental changes in delivery of services and/or how the city is spending and investing money on assets or into its people.
Professional experience as an attorney who works in state governement and is intimately familiar with different fiscal challenges happening across the state.
Lifelong North Dakotan who has valuable relationships across the city and state who I can pull perspective and experience from.
Campaign Phone Number
701-630-0042
I want to see the City of West Fargo live within its means, respects taxpayers, and focuses on the basics—safe streets, strong neighborhoods, and opportunities for families and small businesses to thrive.
West Fargo's long term debt liabilities.
I would focus on limiting new long-term liabilities, restoring fiscal discipline, and avoiding solutions that rely heavily on new taxes or speculative growth assumptions.
A housing strategy for West Fargo starts with a blunt reality: the problem isn’t lack of programs—it’s constrained supply meeting fast population growth. I would focus less on subsidies and more on unlocking the private market to build more housing efficiently.
Yes, it will impact the budget.
Short term (1–3 years): manageable, especially with growth.
Medium to long term: increasing pressure unless spending is controlled.
Fiscal discipline with a long-term view.
I’d focus on making sure the city lives within its means—not just this year, but over a 5–10 year horizon.
Transparency and clarity.
I’d want decisions to be understandable to residents: where the money is going, why, and what tradeoffs are being made.
Respect for taxpayers.
Every dollar in the budget ultimately comes from residents and businesses. I’d treat spending decisions with that in mind—asking whether the value delivered justifies the cost.
Endorsements
Dr. David Flowers, Superintendent Beth Slette, Bernie Dardis
Campaign Phone Number
7013719537
1.Continue to maintain a balanced general fund budget and manage the tax burden. With continued growth, we need to ensure new developments have necessary services while maintaining our older neighborhoods.
2.Sustain high quality core services, especially public safety. Maintaining high quality services is important to ensure that residents and businesses want to move to, and remain in, our community.
3.Improve transparency and long-range planning with community partners.
Our biggest challenge is managing growth while maintaining our existing infrastructure. With the diversion complete, development pressure will increase, and we must ensure core services—especially public safety—keep pace. I would focus on long‑range planning, disciplined budgeting, and attracting more commercial growth to help balance the tax base and reduce the burden on homeowners.
1. Predictable, efficient development process with streamlined permitting, clear zoning standards, and consistent timelines to reduce the risk of costs for builders.
2. Zoning and land use flexibility to allow for mix of housing types. Encourage more builders to produce affordable housing with tax credits.
3. Public-private partnership for redevelopment. Incentives for remodeling of older homes and kept up to code for resale.
4.Infastructure planning that will keep costs manageable
Yes. The new 3% cap will affect the city’s budgeting process because many core costs—public safety, staffing, and infrastructure—often rise faster than 3%. The city will need to prioritize essential services, plan further ahead, and rely more on non‑property‑tax revenue to stay within the cap while still supporting a growing community.
I bring a practical, analytical approach to budgeting, shaped by my experience property management and other boards. I focus on long‑term planning, clear priorities, and making sure taxpayer dollars are used efficiently. I value transparency, data‑driven decisions, and communicating openly with residents about how and why budget choices are made. Ultimately, I believe the city has great employees who do this job well and would allow them to do their jobs with guidance from the commission.
Endorsements
West Fargo TAP (Citizens for Transparency, Accountability, and Professionalism)
Campaign Phone Number
920-737-8477
1 - Financial management (see next question), 2 - Infrastructure growth and the impact on "specials", 3 - Inexperienced staff (2/3 have been in their positions less than 3 years, with no onboarding or mentoring). As a founding member of West Fargo TAP, I have attended most Commission meetings over the last three years, frequently presenting positions based on my own research of city records. My work has also been published in the Forum newspaper and been the topic of radio talk show hosts.
Financial management. Besides the challenge of meeting the state-mandated 3% property tax growth cap, the city has been overspending revenue 7 of the last 8 audited years, as much as $13 million in a single year. Meantime, Commissioners never discuss or act to balance finances based on monthly results. Taxpayers can't afford Commissioners who ignore monthly financial reports after the budget is set. Since 2020, personnel costs have risen 102%, while all other costs have only risen by 78%.
West Fargo has only grown 1.0 - 1.5% per year for the last five years, per reports from the Board of Equalization and City Assessor. Per the City Economic Development Manager, less than 1% of land is available for development. Our only housing needs will be based on decisions made when lagoon and diversion properties become available. It might be best for taxpayers that those properties be focused on commercial/industrial uses, to generate sales tax revenue and better balance property taxes.
Yes. Difficult decisions must be made due to previous financial mismanagement (see previous answer), just as people like me had to make to save our companies during the 2008/9 housing bubble burst. An internal city survey showed city managers have different priorities than do Commissioners. Commissioners have to choose between wants and needs, between high and low priority activities, and to stop using city staff for work that can be done better and less expensively by private firms.
Now retired, I was on the senior staff of several companies in a construction-related industry, making difficult budget, staff, and market decisions, and "coaching up" inexperienced managers. I also have experience influencing others in large organizations, serving as the Chair of the Board of Directors of both a hospital within a regional healthcare system (where I was also the Treasurer of the Regional Board), and our international trade association. Cities should serve residents, not staff.
