Benton Bakke for
North Mankato City Council
My Top Issues
While these aren’t the only things that matter to me, I really wanted to emphasize these things because they truly inspired my campaign when it was a mere, “What if?” in my head.
1
Getting you involved
One of the things that has held back North Mankato from making the best decisions possible is not having and heeding input from the public. I will push to create more city boards and commissions to get the public involved in public administration. I’ll also add more informal ways to share with council members and city staff.
2
Experimenting and innovating
I spend a lot of time every week keeping up on what’s new in science, technology, and policy in a pretty broad spectrum of topics. Check through the public video records of city council meetings, and you’ll see me bring up non-conventional solutions and perspectives related to the topics on the agenda. After all, if you don’t try anything new, how can anything get better?
3
Protecting our community
Regardless of where a threat comes from, local government has a responsibility to ensure the safety of its community. I think Public Safety can and should include more than just peace officers and the fire department. I will work with our city staff to help broaden the plans and capabilities of our emergency responses, and make sure they include residents that are less mobile or don’t speak English fluently.
My Platform: A.R.T.
Accountability
Accountability is about following through and consequences - doing what we said we’d do, and rewarding actions that stick out. If the city makes a plan, but then fails to follow through on it, why agree to a plan in the first place?
Responsibility
Responsibility is about doing what’s right, and not wasting what we have. As a member of the council, I will make sure that we own our mistakes, value future generations, protect our environment, brace for the challenges we will face, and respect our residents.
Transparency
Transparency is about doing things in the open, with everyone made aware of changes before they happen. Transparency keeps everyone on the same page, which is essential for informed consent.
Growing a future for every body
Government plans and investments have the ability to look long into the future, and aim for the best solution for the long run. There are always elements of uncertainty that cannot be planned away, but a flexible, robust plan for the future needs of our community will give us the ability to weather the metaphorical and literal storms in the future. A good plan will also see that we have what we need in place when we need it, and we don’t leave any residents behind.
I’ve had the freedom to look into what the science has said about the future we need to prepare for. There is a lot of work needed to get us there, but we can absolutely do it. My experience getting trees planted on the streets of St. Peter has me confident that we can look ahead and begin the future we want now. We have a lot of options, and many fit into the constrained budget situation we now find ourselves in.
Working together:
A coalition of candidates
I’ve come together with like-minded candidates and community members to form a coalition interested in looking out for our people, and making sure that our city efforts and lands work for us. The big issues that we came together around were opposing the data center that had been considered in town, and trying everything we could to get the city to slow the approval process down to look for a lower cost option for solving the Public Works building needs. The candidates listed here, along with me, all endorse each other in our campaigns. The others are:
Danielle Bollman
Joe Tougas
Sandra Oachs
I’m all ears!
Government doesn’t work without everyone. Neither do campaigns. Use the form on the right to send me an email if you want to have a discussion with me, share feedback on what you want to see the city do (or stop doing), get a yard sign, or volunteer. If you want to donate, go here.