Minnetonka City Council Candidate: Joe Bodell

Editor's note: This week we feature candidates running for the Minnetonka City Council in the  Four days this week, we will feature two of the eight candidates, according to alphabetical order of their last names.

The election will fill the vacant  City Council Member, At Large Seat B, left vacant when former Council Member Amber Greves resigned the position in December.

JOE BODELL

Minnetonka Patch: What qualifications do you have that will make you an effective Minnetonka City Council member?

Joe Bodell: In my day job, I work in a large company with a wide range of financial professionals. In short, my job is to build software that make their jobs easier. This requires strong communication skills to make sure we're building what our stakeholders really need. The same goes for leadership in local government– communicating effectively requires both explanation and listening for what's not only said, but meant.

Outside of work, I've worked for several years on the political front to build routes for community-building and communication through the internet. With the help of many colleagues, I have built the state's largest progressive blog community, and I'll apply the same skills to the work of the City Council– finding new ways for people to connect with one another.

Patch: What is the biggest issue for the city of Minnetonka? Why?

Bodell: Minnetonka faces a demographic crunch, and it's by far the biggest issue we face. As our population ages (and shrinks, according to the 2010 census) our neighborhoods will have fewer families, our schools will have fewer kids, and our small businesses will struggle with less and less disposable income to go around.

We must forge neighborhood planning policies that focus on attracting young families and professionals looking for a place to settle down– redeveloped entry-level homes, renovations to include more modern features, and more dense village-based housing options. This will keep our demographic balance, our small business environment, and our neighborhoods strong.

Patch: What is current Minnetonka leadership doing well? What could be better?

Bodell: The past several years have presented tough fiscal challenges for cities across America. Minnetonka's city management team has done a great job planning for lean years and navigating rough waters, avoiding massive layoffs and keeping tax levies stable.

However, we need the Council to be more nimble and aggressive with its approach to development policy, especially commercial development. The southeast corner of the Highway 7/101 intersection has lain dormant for too long, and we cannot afford to have such a large, potentially valuable piece of real estate doing nothing for the city's tax revenues or for the surrounding community. 

Patch: How will you get input from your constituents?

Bodell: Every way, every day. Email, Facebook, Twitter, a host of social networking tools are ready and waiting for use to foster communication between elected leaders and constituents. I will put them to work. I will go out of my way to solicit feedback on policies and Council proceedings, and encourage involvement from all corners of the city.

Patch: Give us a brief background of yourself.

Bodell: I grew up on the east coast. My wife, Elizabeth, grew up in St. Louis Park. After college, I moved to Minnetonka with her– we were married in 2007, and our sons Jake and Max were born in 2008 and 2010, respectively. By day I'm a web software developer for Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

In 2005 I started a political blog on a whim, and it eventually grew into one of the state's largest online political communities, bringing people together for sometimes-heated-always-interesting discussion. Blogging has given me a front-row view of the policy-making process, and has brought me excitement at the possibilities in both policy and how we connect people to our local government.