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telephone
7633502314
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Because I have 8 years of experience on the council and our city has been a mess for the past 5 years. I served from 2012 to 2019. In good government, everyone deserves equal respect, open dialogue and the opportunity to succeed and our Council/Manager form of government is designed to balance policy-making with professional administration and I believe both of these are missing.
Restoring accountability, respect, integrity, trust and communication within our community. I will lead by example, promoting open dialogue, transparency and collaboration for all. Ensure fiscal responsibility by prioritizing our needs and wants and finally work on completing our infrastructure for police, fire and public works.
I believe the culture with our upper management needs to be addressed and changed. Everyone has a role in delivering good government. Everyone must work together for positive outcomes, through listening, open dialogue and respect.
Council Members must be responsive to citizens needs by listening and working with them on concerns and frustrations. The policy making process needs to change to bring back their voice on issues that affect them. New policies should be under New Business at Council Meetings to ensure they can voice their opinions. We must work together!!
I support our public safety department 100%. They have a very hard job. and safety is a top issue for our community. We must continue to bring back our community police outreach, so that the public and police can work together toward a mutual understanding of concerns and positive outcomes when needed. Support and respect on both avenues is needed for success.
Working together!! A balanced government is necessary for success. Again respect, trust, transparency, honesty and understanding has to be part of the equation. The political divide is not doing us any good. Excepting different points of view and remembering everyone brings something to the table, is a great start.
I believe the city is addressing our infrastructure needs, but they need to be a reality as we can afford them. I'm concerned that we could be undertaking too much all at once. Cost is a huge factor for me. We already have high taxes and we have to be concerned we are not pricing people out of their homes.
I am the best candidate for the city because I can move past partisan politics and get to the city's root problems - lack of trust and communication
between elected officials, city managerial staff and employees. In addition, I am very concerned about the high taxes in Golden Valley, much of it used on vanity projects that do not improve the lives of the taxpayers of this city.
I would like to see a more balanced relationship between the mayor and city administrators and create an equal balance between the mayor and city manager. Currently the city manager has almost total power in the city and does not need to report to anyone. One person in control is not a good idea for Golden Valley.
Trust
Strong communities are built on trust — between residents, city staff, and elected officials.
Truthfulness
Trust grows when leaders tell the truth, even when the news is difficult. Residents pay for city services through their taxes, and they deserve honesty and clarity from their local government.
Taxes
We need to ensure that every tax dollar is spent wisely on core services — public safety, infrastructure, parks, and maintaining essential city operations. I will work to identify waste
Require the city manager and the mayor to work as a team and require information sharing between them
Ensure city-wide metrics are established for the critical functionality of city services and establish a scorecard to monitor them
Involve city all employees in establishing the hallmarks of trust - what it looks like and what it means - and get employee buy-in
This is an area that I believe the city has failed. There are several ways that could happen - hold local face-to-face meetings, include questionnaires in the newsletter, and send out a citizens survey. An expensive consulting firm is not needed to do this. Volunteer citizens could generate the questions and tally responses. Getting the community involved in this type of activity builds trust and eliminates hidden agendas.
Public safety, including the both the fire and police departments, is critical and I believe the citizens of Golden Valley place a high priority on this service. This would mean that police officers and firefighters need to be involved and ask for what they need to successfully serve the citizens. It also means that the management of these two departments must listen to their emplyees and take action to ensure their needs are being met. I would set up scorecards to monitor changes.
Telling the truth and being transparent is a good start.
Golden Valley has some aging infrastructure but everything in the upcoming budget is not needed
. Our fire stations are way outdated and Golden Valley firefighters have one of the highest cancers rates in the metro due to a lack of adaquate ventilation systems in the stations. A new city hall is not needed and if space is too tight it would be more effecient to build an addition to the existing building.
Golden Valley spends too much money on frivilous items, such as "redesigning the city logo
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Ultimately the voters will decide on the best candidate. I believe our city needs to be transparent, responsive, and accountable. I’ve served our country for 10 years as a Navy officer and our city for eight years as planning commissioner and two years on the Board of Zoning Appeals. I currently serve our country’s farmers and ranchers as a crop insurance technology executive and my community as president of my Vallee d’Or townhome association. I commit to applying all the above to help lead an effective city government.
1. Protect firefighter health by decontaminating them from chemicals and carcinogens encountered during emergencies – an issue recognized by city management since at least 2021. 2. Restore morale and productivity of city employees, and restore management of the police and fire departments to their respective chiefs and not the city HR department. 3. Ensure the city focuses on core priorities, including infrastructure, and allocates funds accordingly.
Did you know that city council policy/critical decisions are now not required to be voted on individually or discussed? We must continually improve our resident outreach and publish resident questions and city responses to improve community engagement. City communications should be aligned with city priorities.
We need a city council that has diversity of thought and a focus on core city responsibilities. Our mayor is making great progress in this area but can’t do it alone.
Increase participation and awareness by improving the quantity and quality of information shared with residents, especially during planning phases. Fully leverage our multiple distribution channels (social media, email, text, remote meetings). Use more plain language in executive summaries and agendas. Engagement is a two way street - residents have a civic responsibility to participate at some level in local government. The city is the hub and has the resources to bring people together.
Return management of our police and fire departments to our chiefs to properly manage their public safety responsibilities. Finally deploy a public safety dashboard of crime statistics and enable residents to easily obtain facts. Update the PEACE commission by laws to balance membership and not “focus away from law enforcement.” Equal and fair representation will foster more meaningful conversations and more successful additions to our public safety policy.
Candidates in a Golden Valley’s non-partisan elections should not be seeking or advertising national or state party endorsements. Those endorsements work against the intent and design of our city.
The city must be more transparent and responsive. It must 1) provide timely and complete information to the public, and 2) create a forum for dialog and information exchange. Many residents express inability to find city information online – let’s provide more effective self service tools.
Yes, especially funding and planning. Provide a comprehensive facilities plan that prioritizes Public Safety and Public Works over a new city hall and library complex. Share progress and issues with residents instead of the current minimal disclosures.
Immediately cease the use of Tax Increment Financing in city development. Mobilize voters to demand an end or waiver to Fiscal Disparity so we can invest in our own infrastructure. TIF and FD misallocate millions of tax dollars each year.
My experience in firefighting, emergency preparedness, human resources, non-profit board member, and fundraising have created an awareness of planning, monitoring, and review that is truly relevant to activities of the council. I have a comfort level with problem solving and planning from career that demanded it. I am keenly aware of the responsibilities and visibility of delivering services to the public. I am uniquely suited to reviewing policies and procedures, cooperating with city personnel, and holding myself to a level of accountability and transparency in the actions taken on behalf of our community members.
Transparency, public safety, and emergency preparedness. The response to the water tower emergency underscored the lack of procedure, communication, and planning. We must do the work necessary to ensure that the planning, training, and response is known, coordinated, and effective to mitigate emergencies in our community. We need to take inventory of our activities and decisions surrounding the police department to restore balance and stability.
Review of budget, with notations and specifics of budget items, current projects, setting up process for attaching linking numbers to items in the budget that tie it to a specific project or contract. Listing of current projects with scope, and timelines. Reviews of activities taken by departments reviewed with the council and made public. Metrics standardizing expectations of projects and city performance.
City website and our council meetings need to be reformatted. We need a listing of current initiatives and projects with stated goals, costs, timelines, managers. Providing ongoing status updates of projects keep voters informed in the community. New projects or those being considered can be introduced. Having information that is tied to the project and visible on the city website allows residents to read more detailed information about the projects of the city.
Golden Valley continues to be a safe place to call home. We have on going issues with the management of the department making the department fragile. Public safety departments need to maintain a certain autonomy from city governance due to their enforcement arm. The council provides support thru thoughtful vision and values to uphold. We need to ensure there is confidence in the city management which starts with clear direction from the council.
Transparency and accessibility creates trust and accountability. Our city needs to ensure the voices of our voters are represented thru the council to the city staff. The council would review and focus their dealings to always consider the perspective of our community members. Establish a decision tree that ensures consistent approaches to items before the council. This allows the community to be forefront and considered in items before the council.
This week marked the start of multiple large-scale projects. The priority will be contracts, management oversight, monthly progress reporting to the council, and involvement of the citizens with the project design and look. This is our voter’s city, and it is their money. Their input is vital. I have concerns about the status of the city reservoirs. Is replacement soon? We need dedicated updates on a monthly basis in our newsletter and council meetings televised to our community.
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