A wave of first-time candidates and new faces are looking to
fill several empty seats left by incumbents on the Minneapolis Park and
Recreation Board. President Anita Tabb (District 4), Vice President John Erwin
(at-large), At-Large Commissioner Annie Young, District 1 Commissioner Liz
Wielinski, District 2 Commissioner Jon Olson, and District 3 Commissioner Scott
Vreeland are not running for re-election.
The park board manages 160 neighborhood parks and 19 regional
parks, and has an annual budget of over $111 million.
PARK COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 3
AK
Hassan
akhassan.com
Since coming to Minneapolis in 2008, Hassan has served as
youth coordinator at Franklin Library, Outreach Officer for the Senate District
62 DFL, DFL Somali Caucus Chair, and Ventura Village Neighborhood Association
Chair.
Hassan said his campaign is “about equal accessibility to our
beautiful parks for everyone — especially for our children — regardless of
where they live. ... I want to bring more growing space and community gardens
into or near our parks, with District 3 serving as a pilot program, and add 100
native tree species plantings in the district. I want to see more educational
opportunities and strong community and school board involvement in our parks,
all of which is possible through equitable funding, coalition building, and by
listening to residents’ needs and concerns.”
Abdi
Gurhan Mohamed
gurhanforparks.com
Born in a densely populated town in Somalia, Gurhan moved to
the West Bank neighborhood in Minneapolis 12 years ago. He earned his degree in
business administration from Metro State University. Gurhan has worked with the
Somali Community of Minnesota and as Somali Public Radio host. He is the owner
of two private businesses in Minnesota and employ over 40 employees. He also
works as a strategy consultant.
“I am running as a candidate for Minneapolis Park &
Recreation Board District 3 because I’m passionate about equity,
sustainability, recreation and helping families thrive in our amazing city,”
said Gurhan.
Charles
Exner
www.betterparks.net
Exner would bring a renter’s voice to the park board. He
earned a bachelor of arts in environmental studies from Augsburg College in
2016. Exner served on the Environmental Stewardship Committee there, which
installed a permanent bike fix-it station on campus -- something he’d like to
see at all Minneapolis parks.
While working as an environmental consultant, he learned the
ways the private sector attempts to fit sustainability into their profit
margins. His tenure as a board member with the environmental nonprofit MPIRG
taught him the importance of coalition building and showed him some of the
obstacles that community groups face when dealing with government. He is
endorsed by the Green Party of Minnesota.
PARK COMMISSIONER DISTRICT 5
Andrea
Fahrenkrug
fahrenkrugformplsparks.com
Fahrenkrug has lived in South Minneapolis for over 20 years.
She is a long-time member of the Junior League of Minneapolis, the Woman’s Club
of Minneapolis, and Crew 52. She is a past president of the Minneapolis Jaycees
and Women’s Metro Links golf league.
She lists her top issues as “managing the wonderfully diverse
park system while bringing back good fiscal management; celebrating the diverse
nature of our park’s offerings, and ensuring basic park maintenance for all
parks, not just a few.”
Steffanie
Musich - incumbent
www.musichforparks.com
Musich is a resident of the Wenonah neighborhood and former
president of the Friends of Lake Nokomis, which she helped form in 2010. She
has been a Master Gardener with the University of Minnesota Extension service
in Hennepin County since 2010.
“I am running for re-election to the park board because I am
fully committed to ensuring that the parks implement policies that enable the
Minneapolis Park and Recreation board to continue to adapt to park users’ needs
as those needs change and evolve,” Musich said. “These policies need to also
allow for sustainable growth and thoughtful maintenance of existing properties
and amenities.”
Bill
Shroyer
billshroyer.com
Shroyer has been an employee of the Minneapolis Parks and
Recreation Board for 17 years, and is a certified arborist, park keeper and
aquatic facility operator. He is Union Steward and Recording Secretary of City
Employees Local #363, Laborers International Union of North America (LIUNA),
and speaks English and Spanish.
If elected, he would: plan improvements and expansion that
communities want and approve of; utilize fulltime staff rather than outside
contractors whenever possible; examine park board administrative costs; insist
on real diversity not just sensitivity training; and put biomass and wood
utilization as a guiding principle to “stop wasting thousands of trees removed
each year.”
PARK COMMISSIONER AT-LARGE
There are nine people are running for the three at-large
seats that are available on the park board.
• Charlie Casserly: charliecasserly.com
•
Mike Derus: derusforparks.com
•
Meg Forney - incumbent: megforney.org
•
Londel French: londelfrenchforparks.com
•
Russ Henry: RussHenryForParks.com
•
Devin Hogan: devinforparks.com
•
Jonathan Honerbrink: JonathanforMinneapolis.com
•
Bob Sullentrop: bobsullentropforparkboard.com
•
LaTrisha Vetaw: latrishavetawforparks
This article appeared in the October 2017 edition of the Longfellow-Nokomis Messenger.
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