Supporting Dave Wahlstedt for Hennepin County Commissioner District 6

To the editor:

I am writing in support of Dave Wahlstedt, who is running for Hennepin County Commissioner District 6. One of the reasons that I support Dave is simple, I want to keep property taxes from continuing to rise at an alarming rate. In the past decades, Hennepin County property taxes have climbed at a rate much faster than the rise of the median household income.

I am a small business owner in Minnetonka and a resident of Orono. Dave is also a small business owner.  He has personally felt the impact of high property taxes that District 6 faces. For ten years, he and his wife, Gretchen, have owned and operated the Birdhouse Inn in downtown Excelsior. Dave is running for office because he believes in using Hennepin County money-taxpayer money-more economically. He also supports cutting Commissioner salary, which is currently $97,000.

Many people don't realize that the seven Hennepin County Commissioners are in charge of a 1.65 billion dollar budget. Earlier this year, the current Hennepin County Commissioners purchased the 701 building for $23 million, after it was assessed by Hennepin County at $11 Million. No wonder property taxes keep going up! It's time for a change. It's time to vote in Dave Wahlstedt, who will fight against wasteful spending of taxpayer dollars.

Dave is a husband, a father to two young children, a small business owner, an Excelsior resident and a grassroots political activist. He understands the needs of his constituents and will be an advocate for the taxpayers, something that is truly overdue on the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners.

If you are feeling the sting of high property taxes and would like more of your money to stay in your pocket, vote for Dave Wahlstedt for Hennepin County Commissioner in District 6.

Jennifer Larson

Orono resident

CEO of Vibrant Technologies, Inc