Carver County Commissioner District 2
The county's key policymakers who ensure that citizen concerns are met, federal and state requirements are fulfilled, and county operations run smoothly. County Commissioners oversee the administration of the county, set the county budget, and participate in county long-range planning. Services that they oversee include a wide variety of social service and welfare programs as well as certain public health programs and capital improvements. Learn more about the day in the life of a county commissioner in this video from the Association of Minnesota Counties. (https://www.mncounties.org/meetings_and_education/day_in_the_life_of_a_minnesota_county_commissioner.php)Use the MN Secretary of State’s Candidate Filing page (https://candidates.sos.mn.gov/) to find specific candidate contact information.Watch a candidate forum for this race recorded on September 22, 2026.
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Chrissy Ahola
(NP)
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Tom Workman
(NP)
If elected, what will your top three priorities be and why? (750 characters)
How would you balance safe and secure elections with voting access? (500 characters)
What do you see as the biggest challenges to mental health and social services in your county, and how would you address them? (500 characters)
What approach would you take to delivering county services while managing the cost of delivering those services? (500 characters)
What role, if any, do you think the county board plays in immigration enforcement? (500 characters)
How do you plan to interact with constituents to best understand the needs of the county? (500 characters)
Affordability, the environment, and transparency are the largest issues in Carver County. Inflation has increased more than wages and the county is receiving less Federal and State dollars. We need to grow our local economy, build diverse housing options and create jobs in Carver County by encouraging businesses to come, and stay! We must ensure our environment will not be hurt, today or in the future, by our decisions (i.e. huge data centers or reduced boat inspections). Transparency is an issue because there is too much the board does that the public cannot easily see. If elected I will ask myself these questions before any vote: Who does this vote help or hurt? How does this vote affect our environment? What is the public's view?
The Minnesota election process is one of the securest in the nation, but improvements to increase transparency and integrity should be reviewed and put into place as needed. Our current team does an excellent job following the laws set forth by the State. I observed a hand recount and was happy to see the expertise and preciseness of our team. I applaud the recent change made of providing a larger room to allow for public viewing of early ballot counting, which was a suggestion by a citizen.
I fully support maintaining and creating a safe space for all our residents. The new Family Resource Center is a wonderful additional to the community because it allows a neutral space for residents to seek the help they need, without having to go to the Government Center, which can be very intimidating for some. We need to advertise the programs we have more and encourage our residents to use them as needed.
The budget is already very lean. On Sept 1st the board even cut $77K boat inspectors who protect our lakes from invasive species, hoping the average citizen will do it. This will be a heavy cost to the county in the future in both money & water quality. We need to offset rising costs by increasing revenue not skimming money off services to the legal required minimum. We need to bring new revenue with new homes & new businesses. We should encourage growth and not assume it will just happen.
The board does not play a direct role in immigration enforcement, but they must ensure that the residents feel safe getting services and feel heard. That did not happen this winter. Citizens were afraid to leave their homes and were harassed in their driveways. Citizens spoke at the Commissioner meeting and were told their behavior was “hooliganism”. I served the community, not only delivering food and essentials myself, but organizing volunteers so anyone who needed help got it. Leaders serve.
We need more residents to participate in county activities. This means we need to meet people where THEY are at. We need agendas or items that allow for public comment to be posted on social media. We need ALL public meetings to be recorded and available online, including the budget ones where the real discussions happen. We need to allow people to record their public comment and have it played at board meetings. We cannot expect the public to jump through hoops just to participate.
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