"A New Voice"

My lawn signs and campaign literature will call my candidacy "A New Voice." 

One practical measure of what this means is that Andover has had a very stable Council representation in recent years, and I propose that my election will infuse a new perspective - a new voice in decision-making on that body.  Don Jacobson, who is running for re-election, has been on the City Council since 1998 (although he lost a 2004 contest for Mayor to Mike Gamache).  Julie Trude, who is running for re-election, has been on the Council since 2000.  Mayor Mike Gamache was also first elected to the Council in 2000.  Council member Mike Knight has held office since 1992.  The lone newcomer is Sherri Bukkila, who voters chose in 2008 to succeed Ken Orttel, a 26-year Council member who retired.

From 2000-2008, the same five members of the Council held forth.  Four of the current five members of the Council have served together the entire past decade.  These Council members have been good stewards for Andover this past decade - a period of considerable growth until the past two or three years.  But now Andover voters should weigh whether those representatives are best suited to steward this City the next four years, a period in which the City must recognize the stagnant home-building and home-buying and selling markets, the necessity for new types of economic development, and the obligations of finding ways to complete the parts of the City that are missing its finishing touches.  These include bringing mass transit options - the MTC - into Andover, improving the quality of arterial roads that travel northward through the City, providing safer travel in the City - such as partnering to add right-turn lanes to our main key routes across Andover, and further developing the Station North and Clocktower Commons sites, as well as addressing blighted parts of the community, such as the Round Lake Blvd. & 161st Ave. intersection.


Yes, there is an anti-incumbency sentiment at work in many election contests this year.  I don't know that this necessarily reaches to a City Council election in 2010.

I will be presenting voters with a new voice this fall.  At the most basic level, I bring a different background and perspective than my opponents.  I am a union member - and activist - in AFSCME - the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (public employees' union).  I am a public employee - I have been a public school teacher and I work in the human services department of Hennepin County.  I have been an active Republican in my youth (in the pre-Reagan years), and an active Democrat/DFLer as an adult (in the Reagan years and beyond).  I am a progressive on social issues, and practical-minded on economic/financial issues. 

But at the level of governing and decision-making in Andover, my political leanings and labor background are not the critical determinants of whether or not I can serve the city well on the Council.  You need a Council member who will hear your concerns , take time to study and consider the issue, then reach a decision.  I will do my best to be that Council member, and to be your new voice on the Council.

This blog is my way of reaching out to you, and for you, the voter to dialogue with me  - at least through November 3rd.  In the future, I will be talking about union/labor issues, especially AFSCME issues in this space, and if elected, I will be here commenting on Andover-related concerns.

City Council Meeting Observations (9-7-10) and 12th Wedding Anniversary Weekend and Labor Day Activities

I attended the City Council meeting last night. The 2010 property tax maximum levy was passed at 0% last night. We received a good explanation of how that impacts us in Andover. The average decline in home value from 2010 to 2011 is 8%. Now, if your home value declines by more than 8%, you should see your share of property tax to the City go down in 2011. If your decline is less than 8%, you may experience an increase in your property taxes next year. It's expected that homes valued over $400,000 may lose more than 8% value into 2011. Homes under $250,000 may see less than an 8% decline in value, so property taxes could increase modestly for those owners. The City will receive the same amount of revenue in 2011 as it received in 2010, by not increasing the percentage of the tax levy.


At that point of the meeting, the Council was not opening up for questions or comments from the audience. They approved the 0% levy unanimously. I did have two potential questions to ask. I was hoping they might share what the preliminary expectations are from Anoka County and the two school districts - Anoka-Hennepin and St. Francis - but they didn't. I also read in the Administrator's report that after department consolidations and layoffs, a priority if money becomes available would be to rehire/replace one Public Works position that was laid-off. I would be interested to know from David Berkowitz what the impact of losing that person has been, and whether the City considered that position essential enough to efficient operations to have looked at a 0.5% or 1.0% max levy position, before completing the budget process and approving the budget and final levy amounts in December.

Personally, I'd have preferred leaving the room open to look at those modest amounts of property tax levy increases, if not doing so has a detrimental impact on city operations. But the question was not asked last night, the issue was not addressed last night, and only the Council members and Administrator know if and how it has been previously addressed.



Over at my Facebook page (Wes Volkenant), I've posted photos from our Labor Day 2010 weekend.  On Sunday, Cheryl and I celebrated our 12th Wedding Anniversary.  We were married September 5, 1998 in Highland, Minnesota - near Lanesboro and Preston in SE Minnesota - in the same church that Cheryl's grandparents had been married 75 years before.

We drove over to Osceola, WI on Sunday, and took a train ride!  It was the Osceola and St. Croix Valley Railway, and we took a 45 minute trip back into Minnesota over the St. Croix River to William O'Brien State Park - and then back again to Osceola.  Monday, we had tickets to see the Twins at Target Field for the first time this year!  The Twins won 5-4, behind Jim Thome's monstrous 480 ft. HR off the flag pole in Right Field.  It was rainy throughout the game - I have photos of us sitting under our ponchos during the intermittent drizzle and sprinkles.

We also keep working at the campaign.  My business cards are ready for pick-up today.  My lawn signs are finally approved and in production.  I sent off my campaign literature to the printer yesterday.  I'm working on ads.  We're deciding if we'll have hand-out gifts, like pens or pencils.  I'm printing a few shirts for my door-knocking weekends and evenings.  I've answered questionnaires....