Donna Stafford
Name: DONNA STAFFORD
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-353-7671
Campaign Website: www.stafford4woodury.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page:
Candidate Bio
My life's work involves helping others. Having started at the entry level for each of my endeavors, I've worked to climb in responsibility and ability to advocate for others. , I've worked my entire life to be a voice for people. I want to continue that work and my advocacy for them as your City Councilmember.
As a 30 year resident of Woodbury, I have experienced the well planned growth of my City over the years.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I will strive to keep Woodbury the premier place to live, work, play and stay.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
Be a voice for all. Housing affordability, Environmental stability, Recreational opportunities for the ENTIRE community regardless of ability, mobility, access or age; transportation effectiveness for all.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Woodbury?
Please characterize your perspective on the ideal collaboration between government and the business community when it comes to tackling challenges whether they be education, housing, or workforce development. Do you feel the outcomes of the 2023-2024 legislative session positively or negatively impacted that collaboration and our state's business climate?
Continue the open communication and relationships with our leaders at the County and State levels in expressing the needs of our residents. We are a “collaborative team” representing the specific needs of Woodbury.
How would you characterize the business climate in Woodbury and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Woodbury?
Woodbury has been strategically successful in attracting businesses as our City continues to meet the needs of our residents now and in the future, including housing and transportation assuring we meet the needs of our businesses, whether large or small.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
Public safety and community service has long been a Stafford family passion. Donna's career in health care, ensuring that patients and families are treated by competent professionals, to ensuring the safety and success of patients and staff during rehabilitation, Donna has a long history of commitment to public safety.
Donna believes that when the community has confidence in its public safety department, the entire community wins. What does the community need to have that confidence? Donna wants to work to ensure those needs are met, and the community has that faith and support for it's public safety teams.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
Woodbury has never wanted to be a community just for some, but rather a community for all. Regardless of where people are at in their life's journey, I want Woodbury to be a community where all are welcome and can share in our joys. From being a kid, enjoying our parks, trails, and playgrounds, starting a career, starting and raising a family, becoming an empty nester, downsizing your space and your maintenance commitments, joining a senior community, to needing assistance, Woodbury welcomes all. The City's role in planning for and supporting this large swath of opportunities takes planning and dedication, exploring partnerships and methods to ensure the opportunity exists to come, and to stay in Woodbury no matter your life situation. I want to be a voice as a reminder of this worthy consideration and goal, and I recognize the complicated nature and delicate balance of housing affordability and the City's role in it. Navigating this and being your representative will be an important focus for me.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
Cities have addressed many ongoing needs with temporary, federal COVID relief dollars, what are your plans to ensure fiscal stability as these federal, one-time funds run out?
Woodbury has a highly and uniquely qualified Finance & Audit Commission in addition to our Finance Department who review the fiscal needs of our City and residents assuring fiscal responsibility and stability.
Uber/Lyft wages and proposed childcare subsidies funded by local property taxes are just a few areas where local units of government are wading into policy debates that may be best suited at the state. Please articulate the different scopes of work between state and local government (City/County). Are there specific areas of policy that the city should lead on in lieu of the state or county government?
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-353-7671
Campaign Website: www.stafford4woodury.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page:
Candidate Bio
My life's work involves helping others. Having started at the entry level for each of my endeavors, I've worked to climb in responsibility and ability to advocate for others. , I've worked my entire life to be a voice for people. I want to continue that work and my advocacy for them as your City Councilmember.
As a 30 year resident of Woodbury, I have experienced the well planned growth of my City over the years.
- Woodbury Chamber of Commerce - Past member & President
- Woodbury Community Foundation - Past Member Board of Directors, past co-chair of the Youth Leadership Academy Committee, past member of the Finance & Audit Committee, past member of the Development Committee, past member of the Leadership team.
- Woodbury Lions Club - Member Board of Directors, Member of the golf tournament silent auction & raffle sub-committee. Active in KidSight eye screenings, coordinator of scheduling screenings with Woodbury's Pre-K and daycare facilities.
- It takes a Village Service Group - Co-chair to gather donations of personal items for residents in need. Current projects include providing personal items to seniors, providing bags to Woodbury Public Safety for distribution as they see the need, and for homeless youth and family adoption functions.
- Woodbury Heritage Society - Board member and organizer.
- Woodbury Police K9 Fund - Founder & President of 501c3 established in the memory of Bruce Stafford and in gratitude to the Woodbury Public Safety Department. Raises funds for the purchase of K9s and to provide training for handlers.
- Woodbury Firefighters Alumni Association - Co-Chair of the scholarship committee along with various other programs and areas within the association. Established the "Firefighter in Need" program.
- Woodbury Yellow Ribbon Network - Former Chair and currently active member. Coordinated Memorial Day ceremonies, and assisted with the Woodbury Veterans and their families in need. Many programs and activities within the group including as a volunteer with the "Wreaths Across America" program placing wreaths on gravesites.
- Veterans Memorial Committee - Served as a member to preserve & coordinate activities honoring our veterans. Assists with organizing the annual Veterans Day ceremonies, and assists with the memorials paver sales & maintenance programs.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I will strive to keep Woodbury the premier place to live, work, play and stay.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
Be a voice for all. Housing affordability, Environmental stability, Recreational opportunities for the ENTIRE community regardless of ability, mobility, access or age; transportation effectiveness for all.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Woodbury?
- Working together to ensure tomorrow.
- The water treatment plant, both the temporary and permanent plants being brought online have been designed and brought to our community through steadfast leadership and will help our community deal with an issue we did not create. Patience is needed, as the temporary plants provide us with the water we need today, and the permanent plant is built to provide us with the water we need for our future. I support all of the efforts of those in our community, the city staff and others who have worked tirelessly to bring water treatment to our city.
- Transportation is unique to the individual. There isn't and shouldn't be a one size fits all solution. Not everybody wants to, or has the ability to have a car. A home may have multiple needs for various modes of transportation. Financially, philosophically and physically, our support for transportation must consider everyone in our community. Safe and reliable, supporting our residents and businesses how they want to and need to be supported. I want to work with the community to continue its progress towards being a community for all.
Please characterize your perspective on the ideal collaboration between government and the business community when it comes to tackling challenges whether they be education, housing, or workforce development. Do you feel the outcomes of the 2023-2024 legislative session positively or negatively impacted that collaboration and our state's business climate?
Continue the open communication and relationships with our leaders at the County and State levels in expressing the needs of our residents. We are a “collaborative team” representing the specific needs of Woodbury.
How would you characterize the business climate in Woodbury and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Woodbury?
Woodbury has been strategically successful in attracting businesses as our City continues to meet the needs of our residents now and in the future, including housing and transportation assuring we meet the needs of our businesses, whether large or small.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
Public safety and community service has long been a Stafford family passion. Donna's career in health care, ensuring that patients and families are treated by competent professionals, to ensuring the safety and success of patients and staff during rehabilitation, Donna has a long history of commitment to public safety.
Donna believes that when the community has confidence in its public safety department, the entire community wins. What does the community need to have that confidence? Donna wants to work to ensure those needs are met, and the community has that faith and support for it's public safety teams.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
Woodbury has never wanted to be a community just for some, but rather a community for all. Regardless of where people are at in their life's journey, I want Woodbury to be a community where all are welcome and can share in our joys. From being a kid, enjoying our parks, trails, and playgrounds, starting a career, starting and raising a family, becoming an empty nester, downsizing your space and your maintenance commitments, joining a senior community, to needing assistance, Woodbury welcomes all. The City's role in planning for and supporting this large swath of opportunities takes planning and dedication, exploring partnerships and methods to ensure the opportunity exists to come, and to stay in Woodbury no matter your life situation. I want to be a voice as a reminder of this worthy consideration and goal, and I recognize the complicated nature and delicate balance of housing affordability and the City's role in it. Navigating this and being your representative will be an important focus for me.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
- With the addition of the new Gold Line BRT line, ensuring that those living and visiting in our community are safe, and feel safe, with this expansion of transportation options will present new challenges for our public safety team. Making sure we have the resources to address these very real concerns is important right from the start.
- Continue to explore transportation commuter options to assure accessibility to transportation for all residents.
Cities have addressed many ongoing needs with temporary, federal COVID relief dollars, what are your plans to ensure fiscal stability as these federal, one-time funds run out?
Woodbury has a highly and uniquely qualified Finance & Audit Commission in addition to our Finance Department who review the fiscal needs of our City and residents assuring fiscal responsibility and stability.
Uber/Lyft wages and proposed childcare subsidies funded by local property taxes are just a few areas where local units of government are wading into policy debates that may be best suited at the state. Please articulate the different scopes of work between state and local government (City/County). Are there specific areas of policy that the city should lead on in lieu of the state or county government?