On Regional Development, Transportation Options, and What I'd Like to Accomplish - Answers to North Metro Realtors Association Questionnaire

One of the first contacts I received, was an invitation from the North Metro Realtor's Association, which also wants to interview (or screen) candidates, and perhaps offer funds for campaign expenses, if they deem you worthy of their support.

Here are some of the main questions they asked, and my answers....

What civic/community groups do you belong to?


At present, I am a union activist in AFSCME Local 34 for Hennepin County Social Services, which is a part of the statewide AFSCME Council 5. I am Local 34's elected Vice President, I produce a 12-16 page monthly newsletter for the Local, and I serve on its negotiations committee. I represent the Local in Meet & Confer meetings with Management and I am on the County's health insurance committee. I am Treasurer of the Hennepin County AFSCME Policy Committee, a 12-person executive board representing each of the six AFSCME locals in Hennepin County. I am a candidate for Council 5's Executive Board in October.



I am a member of the United Methodist Church of Anoka. I am a member of the Minnesota and Anoka County Historical Societies.



I served on the City of Anoka Charter Commission for eight years, from 1992-2000.


What do you hope to accomplish if elected?


Andover faces some identity issues and challenges of balancing its rural concerns with its suburban bedroom community issues. I'd like to see the city partner with other agencies and the business community to bring some closure.

We have poor roads north of Bunker - Hanson, Crosstown, 181st, to name a few. Many of our roads lack marked right-turn lanes; either the turning car impedes those who follow, or people make right turns from the shoulder. I'd like to explore bringing MTC to Andover - perhaps along Bunker Lake Blvd. and/or north up Hanson Blvd. to City Hall and the Community Center. Andover does not have a full-service Post Office - we have the large Carrier Annex near City Hall and postal operations out of Super America. Clocktower Commons sits across from City Hall without a clocktower or restaurant that were planned years ago.

Do Andover residents take advantage of having restaurants and retail choices in its city? Oodles, Serendipity, Figaro's, Quizno's, Tasty Pizza... all are examples of 'failed' restaurants in Andover. Meanwhile, we have four pharmacies - two from one company - within two miles of each other. There is little or no commercial activity north of 161st Ave. in Andover - no gas stations, no convenience stores, no bar and grills... I'd like to see Andover partner to bring more enterprise throughout the city.


Tell us about your views on private property rights regarding residential and commercial property?


The Supreme Court's Kelo decision was a real eye-opener. I support government's right to eminent domain, but I believe the elected officials have to put it inside a narrow box. I do not support taking personal property to merely benefit other private development that is questionably in the public interest. I do support it when it is used to widen roads, or improve intersections, where necessary for the public's interest, or when it’s used to provide access for properties that otherwise would be inaccessible.


The North Metro REALTORS Association supports providing options for transit (buses, rail, etc.) and transportation, as well as the coordination of land use and planning policies with transportation and housing needs. What are some transportation options or plans that you would support in your city or county?


I don't know whether MTC's studies support expansion of bus routes into Andover, but I believe there is already significant ridership from Andover - and north Anoka County - that would sustain at least limited morning and afternoon rush hour routing along the busier thoroughfares - Bunker Lake Blvd, Round Lake Blvd. or Hanson Blvd. I am often a bus rider from the Coon Rapids' Foley Park & Ride - half my morning trip is just getting to Foley Park & Ride. I am a big supporter of the rail opportunities already running - and in the planning stages - for Anoka County.


What are your views on regional development? How will you address new residential and commercial development issues or demand?


I think Andover and Anoka County must partner with the Metropolitan Council to revisit where we're headed for 2020 and beyond. Should Andover be permitting new home developments, and if so, where?

As of March 2010, the City has 17 development agreements with City Sewer and Water, ranging from a small 6 unit development in Maple Hollow to large, significant developments at Grey Oaks (up to 300 units), County Oaks West (82 units - 33 available in March), Sophie's South (85 units, 57 available), Miller's Woods (86 units, 21 available) and Parkside at Andover Station (110 townhome units, 12 available). And there were seven acreage developments with Well & Septic choices, including a 19 unit development at Stacks Woods and a 16 unit development at Silver Meadows West. That's a lot of development projects in place.

Should acreage development continue in rural well-water areas instead of areas with City water and sewer? What is the state of Andover's water supply - can it sustain the current population? Can it handle 1500, 2500, 5000 more homes? In the August 27 issue of the ABC newspapers, there were 48 Andover foreclosures in the public notices - perhaps fewer than in Coon Rapids, Ham Lake and East Bethel, but far too many nonetheless. Is there already too much housing stock in Andover? With declining home values and rising costs of living in the farthest-out suburbs, will Andover continue to attract new residents?

Should Andover invest in city-wide Wi-Fi, for example, to make working from home easier for Andover commuters? What WILL make it easier to live in Andover, and be able to engage all the amenities that we drive to Blaine, Coon Rapids, Anoka, and beyond to find, and enjoy?




Tell us about your views for providing more attainable residential and commercial property in your area?


Should we further develop Andover's residential properties? Andover has a mixed character of some farm acreage, large 2.5 acre+ lots, a considerable amount of 'normal' suburban development properties, and a small amount of high density housing - generally isolated from other parts of the City. There are many concerns for the future of a commuter community 30 miles north of the two downtowns.

I'd rather Andover focused on bringing closure - or completeness - to what we have now, for the next decade, and encourage business developments, and bring suburban amenities to Andover, where churches and pharmacies are plentiful, but where there are only five gas stations, where the only brand-name restaurants are Subway and McDonald's (two), and there are no auto dealerships, libraries - or bookstores, laundromats, combination walk-in and drive thru banks, or "Super" anything retail giants in town, as you'd expect in a suburb of 30,000+. Perhaps, it'll be as simple as starting with shoring up our infrastructure.




REALTORS(R) don't just sell homes, they sell neighborhoods, and they sell communities. In what ways can your area REALTORS(R) be better partners marketing and selling your city or county as a great place to live, work, play, and do business?


You already know our community. You were there helping to get businesses started, helping us find or build our homes. Pat Von Mosch was critical to my wife and I being able to both get our Andover house built through TH Construction and Jim Borden, and then helping us sell our Anoka home - that I'd inherited from my parents - in the summer and fall of 2000.



So, step back and help the City of Andover find out what still needs to be done. Can your Association help our community to build a Night-Out campaign across the city to rival our neighboring communities who have thriving opportunities to engage one's neighbors and promote safety awareness on the neighborhood streets?

Drive throughout Andover with a new set of eyes. Look at Bunker, Hanson, Andover, Crosstown and Round Lake Boulevards. What impression do they make? Now drive down Main St. in Anoka, through Riverplace in Coon Rapids, along Coon Rapids and Hanson Blvds. in Coon Rapids, up Highway 65 in Blaine and back down Radisson Rd. and over to the Village in Blaine. Who or what is Andover compared to the aging, decaying routes in some places and the young, vibrant, thriving locales elsewhere?

What can you find to partner with Andover that will keep people happily living in Andover, when gas prices go higher and higher, when city services are cut back further, when home prices fall further? What types of shopping, eating or work initiatives can we bring to Andover? Is it Wi-Fi? Is it better roads, or availability of park & ride bus stops within blocks or shorter miles from home? Is it more shopping or restaurant choices? I'd like to see what creative alternatives NMRA can initiate and bring to the attention of Andover's City Council and commissions.

Redistricting: An Important Issue for Andover Next Year

Municipalities, such as Andover, which have seen considerable changeover the past decade - new houses, new neighborhoods, considerable growth in population - face the somewhat compelling task of redistricting the city's election precinct boundaries prior to the next election in 2012.

Here's a link to Minnesota Statute, 204B.14 that details this process:  https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/?id=204B.14&year=2009 .

This should be an obvious and necessary undertaking by the City of Andover.  Looking over the election results at the Secretary of State's Elections web page, one can see quite a disparity between our 10 precincts.

In the 2006 election, out of over 12,500 votes cast in Andover, this is the percentage of voters from each of our Precincts (if all were split evenly, they'd each represent 10% of the voters):

Precinct 7:  14.7% (about 1860 voters)
Precinct 1:  11.8% (about 1480 voters)
Precinct 8:  11.3% (about 1430 voters)
Precinct 2:  11.1% (about 1400 voters)
Precinct 10:  9.9% (about 1260 voters)
Precinct 6:   9.9%  (about 1250 voters)
Precinct 9:   9.5%  (about 1190 voters)
Precinct 3:   8.1%  (about 1025 voters)
Precinct 5:   7.8%  (about  980 voters)
Precinct 4:   5.9%  (about 740 voters)

That's a wide disparity.  Each precinct has just one polling place to attend on election days.  Precinct 7 is about 2 1/2 times the voter size of Precinct 4 - over 1100 more voters came to the polls that day, and faced long lines, long waits, and arguably, a more arduous voting process.

In 2008, we had a Presidential election, and many more contests were on our ballot.  The disparity of voting numbers actually worsened in 2008:

There were nearly 15,500 voters in Andover in 2008.

Precinct 7:   16.6% (about 2560 voters)
Precinct 8:   13.1% (about 2020 voters)
Precinct 1:   12.4% (about 1910 voters)
Precinct 2:   11.9% (about 1840 voters)
Precinct 10: 11.8% (about 1830 voters)
Precinct 9:   10.3% (about 1600 voters)
Precinct 6:   10.3% (about 1590 voters)
Precinct 3:    9.2%  (about 1420 voters)
Precinct 5:    8.8%  (about 1360 voters)
Precinct 4:    6.0%  (about  930 voters)

You can draw your own conclusions, but clearly Precinct 7 needs to be reduced, while Precincts 4 and 5 need to be grown somewhat.  Arguably, Precincts 1,2 and 8 are too large at this time, while Precinct 3 is a bit small.  As currently configured, Precincts 6 and 9 - on either side of Precinct 7 - are about right.

Unfortunately, it isn't as simple as moving one or two neighborhoods north or south or east or west, because it will really be something of a domino effect by the time all the various shifts are settled.


This is the type of work that our experienced, hard working City staff will most likely be tasked to prepare your City Administrator and City Council for.  This is the type of detailed challenges that I like to tackle, and offer my informed opinions about.

I've been part of the Hennepin County AFSCME-Management negotiations process for the last three negotiation sessions.  This is the type of nuance that I bring to our preparations.  We send about 30-40 union members to work with three AFSCME Council 5 staff to negotiate with Management.  I take it upon myself to provide analysis of health insurance-related matters and job classification-pay scale data that the union side tries to work with as part of the negotiating process.

I was a part of the United Methodist Church of Anoka Finance Committee for about seven years, chairing the Committee for three years.  I prepared lists and breakdowns of the church pledging process for the Pastor and members of the Finance Committee.  I organized the call contact process, and devised a tracking method for contacts. 

This is the type of thorough preparation I would bring to the Council, if elected.

Have a good day!

And, Why Am I Running for City Council?

So at 54, I'm fulfilling one of those teenage dreams I had - to run for public office. The dreams including winning office and doing a good job of serving the public. I hope this has a happy ending. It will be very challenging. I had expected to run for office at a time it appeared the incumbents would not be in the race. But instead, I am one of eight candidates, and both incumbents chose to run again, as well. So it will be difficult for us newcomers to break through, but I am going to try and make a case to change the current makeup of the Council.


I read a comment at Facebook from a one-time acquaintance who stated that he fears our turn to Socialism. Well, at the City Council level, the issues and the dollars and the number of lives impacted by government intervention - or lack thereof - is at a much smaller scale than at the state and national levels. Liberals and Democrats are not politically strong in Andover, but voters in Andover certainly don't need to fear Socialism, nor do they need to fear Democrats serving on their Council. Government can do right - by the people and for the people - lest we shall perish by our own insensitivities to the needs of the general welfare of the citizenry, which government is there to serve and respond to.


I am a Democrat. I am a public employee, working for Hennepin County. Earlier in my life, I was a public employee as a school teacher, here in Anoka-Hennepin and elsewhere in Minnesota. I am the son of a woman who proudly - and magnificently - educated Minnesota students for 39 years, and was a public employee to the day she had a heart attack at age 62, on her last day with her students before retiring, and never saw one day of her retirement. I am the son of a long-time federal employee, a veteran of the Marine Corps and a 27-year US Postal employee. My wife works in Ramsey County. I believe in government - in good government. I believe in the service good government brings to its citizens.



Part of my thoughts as a candidate goes back to the basic necessity of government in our lives, no matter what the Peggy Scotts, Chris delaForests and Debbie Johnsons of this area may think. You get what you pay for. And frankly in Andover, that's pretty bare bones. We have really good employees in Andover, but with pay freezes, cuts in staffing - they're spread pretty thin. I'd like to see us pay Andover employees properly (restore those frozen pay steps), and re-fill some of those positions (do you know that if you go to City Hall over the lunch hour, that they have to juggle who covers the front desk, who's available to help you, and sometimes have to ask you to come by later, because the only person who can help, isn't available?), so we don't seem so small town. We're a good-sized bedroom community of 31,000+ for heavens-sakes.



And Andover feels incomplete. We need to partner to finish things - we still have poor roads north of Bunker in much of the city. There are no right-turn lanes off of many key roads - like Hanson, like Andover Blvd, like 181st, or like Crosstown. Can't we get the County to at least remark shoulders and post "Right Turn Lane" signs on these artery roads? Why is there still no Clocktower near City Hall? Isn't there supposed to be a restaurant over there, too? Why is there no MTC line into Andover, especially not along Bunker, or north up Hanson to City Hall? I'd like to see us reach partnerships with the agencies or businesses that can get some of these things finished.



Recently the City had to talk to some of its citizens about the City's inability to afford to go around collecting tree limbs and brush that had been gathered following one of our many storms this summer. I appreciated that some members are looking at partnerships on such things as shared wood chippers between communities, that could allow them all to be more responsive to the community's needs. Concerns over the city water supply, dealing with requests for height variances, quelling neighborly disputes that identify unknown acreage issues that play out against city rules or ordinances - these are the types of real, everyday, city-level concerns that I'm prepared to step in and encounter, and contribute to the resolution thereof.



Most of our parents didn't have the beautiful, large homes and acreage so many of us enjoy in Andover. Our property taxes are hardly out of line - in fact, my mortgage has gone down a bit each of the last three years - without a refinancing - because the property taxes choices have made it so. The Democratic candidate for Governor wants to shift some of that property tax burden away from the middle class to the wealthier Minnesotans. That may impact many Andover households if he's successful. But if he and the Legislature are successful in implementing this change, it is also the City's responsibility to begin to address the services, those employee functions, that City infrastructure, in the next four years, and let us progress forward, instead of finding ourselves idling in neutral. Let's work to complete Andover, and keep it the attractive vision of a community that drew many of us to move here the past 10-15 years.