Photo provided by Nick Campion
Photo provided by Nick Campion
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Ward: Ward 3

Official Bio: 

I was born and raised in Rochester, attending Lourdes High School before studying computer science in Chicago. I returned to Rochester after college to work at IBM in cloud technology. I left IBM in 2010 to help build a startup company in Rochester. I work as the director of mobile strategy for Newscycle Solutions. I have volunteered with organizations throughout the area, including the United Way and the Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission. I have served as the Rochester City Council Member for Ward 3 since 2014. My wife Megan and I have two young boys who keep me active throughout the city.

Your key platforms 

Prioritize our neighborhoods, focusing investments in parks, public safety and transit that enhance the places we live.

Bring strategic, creative planning to our investments so all parts of our community are balanced and financially sustainable.

Transparency, accessibility and fairness need to drive our decision making. City decisions made between old friends behind closed doors is the past. I make myself accessible and my decisions transparent.

Why should your ward vote for you?

Ward 3 should re-elect me because our city faces complex issues and needs experienced and fair leadership. Despite tremendous focus on downtown, I always fight for what’s best for Ward 3. I bring creative solutions to old challenges and a drive to be better. I am like you, a parent with a young family whose safety and well being is my priority.

What do you envision for the future of Rochester?

Rochester must continue to evolve. I continue to see Rochester’s neighborhoods and healthcare industry as major strengths. We need to do more to retain our talented workforce and to make sure that every person that works here can live here. We need to balance desirability, the desire to stay, with affordability, the means to stay.

As we grow, I am committed to keeping our neighborhoods vibrant. I want a Rochester with better transit that provide legitimate commuting options. Neighborhoods built with streets that enhance safety and value accessibility for all. Parks developed to meet the needs of all. Policies that encourage housing while minimizing the burden on taxpayers.

I want a government that encourages and supports small business, the backbone of a robust local economy. This means going beyond platitudes. It means cutting unnecessary regulations. Developing new opportunities for commercial development. Allowing more existing business to expand and new business to start. Supporting our local businesses the same way we support our large businesses.

I want a community that is rightfully respected as Minnesota’s third largest city in the state and an integral hard-working economic engine.

What are your connections to The Mayo Clinic? How do you plan to work with The Mayo Clinic?

I have received medical care at the Mayo Clinic my entire life. More importantly, I have developed a working relationship with several parts of Mayo, as with many businesses in our community, in an effort to ensure we can collaborate. As our community’s largest employer, we must work with Mayo in a collaborative, mutually-beneficial manner. We have work to do on transit, parking, affordable housing and operations. But Mayo is not separate from Rochester; Rochester IS Mayo in that the custodians, electricians, nurses, cooks, phlebotomists, valets, volunteers and others that make the Clinic what it is call Rochester home.

What are your connections to the DMC? How do you plan to work with the DMC?

I tend to look at the DMC as our City’s economic development project. I see the DMCC and EDA as colleagues working toward the objective of improving our local and regional economies. I am always cognizant, however, that my responsibility is to our community first. That means a constant focus on the best results for our city and a long term view of the costs for our community.

How would you address the concerns of citizens about the loss of some of the city's older and potentially historic buildings to new development?

I am deeply sympathetic to concerns that we’re losing our past. When talking about the demolition of 100-year old buildings, the stakes are large for our community. The best way to ensure success in historic preservation is to partner with willing landowners. Our community should establish incentives to promote preservation. I would encourage those interested in seeing additional properties preserved to work with City Hall. Our laws may need some revision and our incentives will need funding before we can preserve every single building we want to.

Favorite Rochester Moment?

My wife and I moving into our first home. I think that was a very special moment where Rochester went from being the town I group up into the city I choose to live in. As we put down roots and started our adult lives, I think that moment defined a path for our live, a path in Rochester.

What’s one thing you want the Rochester community to know about you?

I take special pride in a number of buildings and bridges in our community because of my late father. He was a crane operator and I remember him taking me around job sites and seeing parts of our community take shape from the ground up. Whether he was letting me hop in the seat of a crawler crane or waving at me from the top of a tower crane, my father instilled in me a respect for hard work and for people who work hard. I thank him daily for giving me the drive to work hard for our community.

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