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Why are you <br />interested in <br />serving on the <br />City Council?: <br />income individuals get the government benefits that they were legally <br />entitled to. For the past two and half years I have been an unemployment <br />law judge for the State of Minnesota. I have loved applying the law in an <br />impartial manner in the cases before me. I believe this helps safeguard <br />this crucial government program for people, the importance of which has <br />never been clearer than in our current period of skyrocketing <br />unemployment. Second, I have long been interested in public policy. This <br />was a strong factor behind my decision to major in economics and then <br />attend the University of Minnesota Law School. This interest was further <br />developed during my time with the Minnesota Catholic Conference. <br />While there I loved conducting a wide variety of policy and legal <br />research. I was also able to work with legislators of both parties to <br />advance the policy goals of Minnesota’s bishops. Lastly, I love New <br />Brighton. My wife and I moved here in 2013, because it had affordable <br />apartments within commuting distance to school and work. We bought <br />our house to start raising our family here in 2016 because we came to <br />love the city. New Brighton has been a great choice to begin raising our <br />children, with our beloved Hansen Park, good schools, a first-rate library, <br />and the always fun Eagles Nest. Above all, I have found that people of <br />New Brighton are kind and generous. I want to help ensure it continues to <br />remain a terrific city far into the future. <br />What are your <br />top 3-5 policy <br />priorities for the <br />City?: <br />• Promote economic development. I hope to work to create a policy <br />environment supportive of business development in the city and remove <br />barriers to development whenever feasible. This can be supplemented by <br />more sparing direct aid, especially in strategic areas such as the Old <br />Highway 8 corridor and Lot B in the Exchange. • Maintain relatively low <br />tax rates for the region without compromising core services. New <br />Brighton has been able to build and maintain first rate government <br />service, including local public service and numerous well-maintained <br />parks while keeping tax rates low compared to many neighboring <br />communities. However, it could be easy for New Brighton to drift from <br />this state and develop a steadily more bloated budget. It is incumbent on <br />the City’s elected officials to be vigilant guardians of the taxpayers and <br />promoters of government efficiency. • Maintain and Improve City <br />Infrastructure Continue to update our streets, sewers, and lighting <br />systems to maintain the infrastructure used by our Cities. Continue to <br />work towards building a sustainable debt free street financing system. <br />Explore possible efforts to reduce strain on City infrastructure and assess <br />if they can be executed without sacrificing service quality. Work with the <br />city's local representatives and others to maintain and expand access to <br />public transit in the city. <br />What are your <br />goals as a <br />Councilmember <br />for the remainder <br />Covid-19 is the most serious issue facing our city at this time, and our <br />city government has taken the proper precautions to safeguard our <br />community. My paramount goal for the remainder of 2020, if I am <br />appointed to the Council, would be to help maintain these efforts while <br />transitioning to more long term and targeted measures. This effort will <br />require our city to listen carefully to the relevant experts, to ensure we do <br />not move too fast while taking the appropriate precautions to reopen <br />while protecting the health of our community. This will also require our <br />city to work closely with counterparts at the County and State level to