Now is not the time for fences and conflict. Now is the time to work together. We can protect our wonderful city and make it better for everyone by truly listening to each other to learn more, not listening, but not listening to plan our rebuttal.

I am data driven. I'm one of those kind of people understands data and lecturing. I've written a lot of grants. So, I've worked with a lot of governments along the way and I've taught critical thinking classes to people at the university.

Over the past four years, we have accomplished a lot. We've increased the training and support of our police and firefighters so that they are better equipped to do their jobs. Our home buyer assistance programs are helping new home buyers become our neighbors. And our sustainability efforts include the addition of solar panels to three of our public facilities.

I think our most pressing issue is going to be um economic uncertainty with uh just uncertainty about what's going on federally, what's going what the economy is going to be. It's going to uh be a challenge for us to plan and budget um and make sure that we continue to provide quality services for our residents.

I think the economy is very important one that's uh boiling up across the United States and we're certainly going to be affected by it here in Minnetonka. And as part of that, I think uh if I have time, I'll talk about a little survey I did when I was knocking. And uh one of the things on people's minds is lowering property taxes.

If I had to make budget cuts, I would first look at just like we did at the university, you look at personnel. That's a hard one to look at, but uh that's often the largest part of the budget. That's $126 million in the budget.

Well, I would um go back to our our residents and uh do some surveys and find out what services are what services that they feel they can do without um if we actually if we absolutely have to make cuts.

I think the the main thing we have to do is more education more education for parents. Um you you're supposed to be 15 years old or older to ride an ebike. So if you're under 15, you shouldn't be on an ebike. And I I don't know how many parents are aware of that.

We can't use the police for that obviously. Uh they got better things to do than ticket kids. But I think education talking to parents and putting a lot of stuff in the Minnotonka memo about how to handle this problem because it is a problem.

I don't know particularly how to address that except that you know it depends on revenues again if the uh one person made a statement to me that said what if you want your child to live in Minnetonka because you live in Minnotonka. Well, it's not affordable anymore because the city is saturated. So, for housing, maybe there are grant maybe again uh people should bug the state and see if we can get revenue from them to help people put down payments down on houses.

So Minnetonka already has several programs that I support. Uh we have some home buyer assistance programs that help firsttime home buyers. We have um an affordable housing uh policy where uh affordable units are included in multif family housing when uh if the if the city is giving any any financial uh aid to the developer.

I pay uh private uh operators to haul away my garbage and I'm extremely happy with it. Uh, if the cost can be cut in half by by contract the city contracting garbage removal, that would make probably everybody happy.

There there tends to be the argument between people want to have a choice versus having a a city contract. Um if one we could uh uh negotiate a contract that would allow for a lower price for everyone. And two, the the second benefit would be decreasing the amount of garbage trucks. Um which is a complaint that I hear when I'm out knocking doors is the number of different trucks going up and down the street and the pollution and the noise and and all of that.

I'd say the um the city has a relationship with the Wisetta Chamber of Commerce. Um I think just um we we do business surveys. We check in with with our businesses to see how they're doing and and and what changes can be made. So I think just staying in contact with the businesses we have here and seeing and being in conversation with them about what can we do to make the city or you know the the properties that we have more attractive.

I'm very business friendly. We need businesses. I'm a consumer. If there's no businesses here, I can't consume. So looking at what's happening here, I think the big thing to do is uh I said before I'm data driven. Get as much information as you can from all the business people and see what kind of solutions they have for this particular kind of a problem.

It seems to be now a federal problem more than a local problem. Uh, and I'm not sure states should welcome the federal government into their operations. So, for example, to have ICE agents here, I think would be terrible. We got to let the law of the land uh play out uh in terms of immigration.

I don't believe the local police should have any role in assisting ICE or uh federal uh immigration programs. Um our the Henipin County police chiefs of which our Minnetonka police chief is the head uh released a statement uh stating that they do not work with ICE. They do not cooperate with ICE. I fully support that.

I think I uh join with some of my fellow council uh members in applauding the mayor for participating in the press conference where uh the mayor Fry um they called for a ban on assault weapons and uh large magazines. I think that's a start. We need to we need to push for gun control. We need to push for better better mental health ser services.

I would recommend a safety officer of some sort in every single school uh to be there, be armed, not be conspicuous, but be armed and be ready for any of those kinds of uh events might that might occur. Uh I don't think uh people will give up their assault weapons here in the United States.

No, Minnetonka should not support homelessness. It should do everything possible probably to supply uh support mental and uh health for people like that and find housing for them if they can. uh we probably would not like most of the citizens would not like to have a homeless encampment here.

Um so if you go back and listen to the study session and u what was discussed all of the council members were very adamant that in in any response to homelessness that we lead with compassion. Um and the city a few years ago formed a partnership with his house to to provide services for for the unhoused.

It has been a privilege to serve as your city council member. I am ready to face the challenges of the next four years as we all come together to make it work. I have learned much from your experiences and expertise and professional insights and it's given me access to so much talent and knowledge here in Minnetonka.

I will focus on public spaces and support innovative health services with fiscal responsibility. Minnesota is a center of excellence in health sciences and outdoor wreck and education. I will work to bring more partnerships and innovation to the city, not higher taxes.

Well, I think uh the council needs some changes. Councils get kind of hidebound. They're, you know, they're committees with the same people on it for a long period of time, and sometimes we need some change. Vote for me, and you'll see some change. I'm a fiscal conservative. I'm an environmentalist uh by training and long uh periods of time in different countries uh where uh I worked uh in the environment and helping people and I'm particularly interested also in personal safety around the cities.