OUESTION 1:  If you had to paint a picture of the future of the city over the next 10 years, what would it look like?

1. Public Comment is returned as an agenda item on the city council meeting agenda after being removed in 2017 by the current administration.
2. Our Nature Center is open to the Public and funded by city resources and not privatized
3. Sell the community center building to the YMCA for fair market value instead of renting for a $1.00 (look at the lease).
4. Maplewood Mall remains a commercial, job producing business zone with a mix of retail, corporate office parks and distribution centers – all capitalizing on the location off of the Interstate 694 transportation corridor.
5. Our parks and city nature preserves are permanently protected from development
6. Reduced crime and incidents of minor crime are taken seriously by Police Chief and he/she improves his/her policy regarding response to residents and businesses when addressing theft, shoplifting, car break-ins, property break-ins and etc.
7. Three fire stations – NOT two. Improve life-saving response time for medical emergencies.
8. An unadulterated, protected, Bruce Vento Nature Trail with its lovely tree canopy.
9. Connectivity between greenways, open space, green space, and trails
10. Responsible budgeting and spending with priorities focused on the core services (i.e. including but not limited to public works, public safety through police/fire/paramedics, management/preservation of city owned parks/nature preserves/trails, licensing/permitting/inspections).  For instance: Do we really need a city drone and staff drone training?

OUESTION 2:   What would be your biggest challenge if elected?

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1. Reversing the decision to close the Gladstone Fire Station
2. Permanently protecting our parks and city nature preserves from development
3. Selling, for market value, the $1.7 million+ in properties the current city administration purchased over the past 3 years at inflated prices (land was purchased with the hope City would flip to developers) and repaying the $2 million back to the sanitary sewer fund which the current administration transferred out to fund this plan. Funds from the sanitary sewer fund are typically used to help fund Maplewood road improvement projects.

QUESTION 3:  Give an example of how you have worked productively with others who do not share your opinions.

As a practicing attorney for over 20 years, professionally I work productively with opposing counsel while advocating for the best interests of my client.  The goal is to reach a mutual agreement and not bring everything to trial. Approximately 90% of my cases conclude by agreement. 10% go to trial. This is my measurement of working productively with others who do not share my opinions.

OUESTION 4:   What is your position on the city’s current environmental and sustainability strategies? Please explain your position.

1. When previously on the Maplewood City Council, I listened to the residents, and stood with them, to protect and preserve Fish Creek, located in the Mississippi Critical Area, from development and destruction.  Additionally, I proposed the initiative to permanently protect all of our city parks and city nature preserves from development. While there was push-back by certain vocal city administrators and the then chair of the Parks and Recreation Commission, we did manage to place a protective covenant on the Priory Preserve to protect it.
2. I remain committed to the protection of Maplewood’s parks and nature preserves. But more than that, the trails and the greenway connections between the various open spaces and water bodies. The protection of these natural resources, whether used actively or passively, or simply held in protective status as public assets, is part of our quality of life and community values. Laws alone do not protect these assets! People do, as does their appreciation, of the value they attribute to these assets. Politicians can always sell off land, close Nature Centers, decimate greenways and trails. That is why it is important to know where candidates for council vocally stand on these issues, BEFORE they are elected.
3. Additionally, having sustainable management practices is important – as practiced by both the City and Maplewood residents. Consequently, it was wrong-headed for the current Mayor to acquiesce to City Administration’s move to close the Nature Center and eliminate it as a City budgeted amenity.
4. Here is why the Nature Center is important:  Our natural resources are best protected when the people of the community use the parks, trails and open space. Education is the key to developing appreciation in Nature, greenways, clean water, wildlife, ecosystems and best practices in sustainable management.  The Nature Center plays an important part to developing and maintaining our quality of life, community values and elevating the value of preservation over the value of money. The operation of the Nature Center bolsters the continued protection of our parks, trails, open space and greenways in Maplewood as well as the providing resources to Maplewood Residents on the sustainable management of private property.
5. So, in other words, the Nature Center and its programing should be reopened as a city service.  The Nature Center had a budget of under $320,000 in a 40 million+ city budget.  The newly created “Communications” Department with 3 full-time staff has a budget of roughly $655,000. Why can’t a portion of the $655,000 Communication Fund be used to “communicate” best practices in sustainable management through the Nature Center?