Sixteen years ago I first volunteered for the city of Shoreview on the Economic Development Commission. It was the first time I became involved with local government and Economic Development always interested me. Our city staff and our team created a Business Retention and Expansion program to both identify our key businesses and build outreach to them toward keeping them in Shoreview and helping them grow.
Nine years later I was appointed to the Economic Development Authority where I still serve. This group works on housing policy, identifies needs and builds programs to help with affordability, low cost loan programs for residents including down payment assistance and policies that provide guidelines for developers and protections for renters.
In 2016 I ran for City Council and was honored to win a seat that I still hold. During all of these transitions, our city was led by our current Mayor Sandy Martin. Her leadership provided balance and transparency. She balanced the needs of the city and citizens, worked hard to build trust with the community through transparent government and managed to hold taxes down while expanding the Community Center, and continually investing in parks and trails.
Now our Mayor is also transitioning to retiring from her office. My transition is to run for Mayor in 2022, intending to sustain the success and stability of our community while looking toward the future needs of the community. I don’t believe I would be running for Mayor without learning from one of the best. I intend to do my best to live up to her legacy.
