Hanna Valento
Name: Hanna Valento
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone:
Campaign Website: hannavalento.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/hanna.valento.citycouncil/
Candidate Bio
I have been serving my community on the Forest Lake City Council since 2021. During my first term, and for the first time for the city, a 10-year budget plan was created and approved. This plan has helped shape the trajectory of Forest Lake, transitioning the city to become more proactive. We have been able to appropriately start funding our roads and move in that same direction for our parks, which have both been historically underfunded. I am also part of the Forest Lake Rotary, and always look forward to our Winter Plunge.
I grew up in Hugo and went to the Forest Lake schools, graduating in 2013. My background is government work. I am currently the Legal and Policy Counsel for the Chief Executive for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. In this role, I review and draft Executive Orders, bills, memoranda, letters, compacts, and more. I have experience in every branch of government and experience at the city level, state level, and tribal level. I have loved serving in government and getting to understand the roles each government plays.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
My style of leadership is unique.
First, some say I don’t argue or talk enough during a meeting, but I don’t believe everything is a fight or something waiting to be disagreed upon. I believe in collaboration, and that, as adults, we can get to a middle ground for the best interest of our community.
Second, I remind myself to always remain objective. Even though Forest Lake has a population of a little over 20,000 people, it can still feel like a small town. With a small-town feel, sometimes it’s who you know. I enjoy the small-town feel, but I will not entertain favoritism based on who you know. Everyone must follow our ordinances and policies to create a fair process for all.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
My top three priorities are:
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Forest Lake?
The biggest challenge in Forest Lake is internal organization. The city leadership has historically cut budgets, combined jobs, and out-sourced positions. Ten years later and we are still trying to get to a place that is sustainable and operational for Forest Lake. It will take time, but with good leadership and staff, we will get there.
The biggest opportunity is economic development. We have a rundown downtown and open land. First, our community is craving a revitalized downtown to draw our own community members to shop and eat, and to make our downtown corridor a destination to drive to for shopping and eating. We have a new restaurant that is opening soon that has done a wonderful job of sprucing the building up, I am greatly looking forward to visiting once they open. We also have a few other restaurants that have recently opened in the downtown corridor, which makes me hopeful for the future. Second, Forest Lake has a lot of green space for single-family homes in the south-western portion of the city. Within the last two years, we hired a Community Development Director to discuss and plan with developers to create an easier experience working with the city. Currently, in discussing next year’s budget, we are weighing the option of adding another position – EDA Supervisor – to the city, which would be an investment to the city to better help us communicate with developers and move the city in the right direction.
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?
Forest Lake is well known for our collaboration with our different entities throughout the city. We have a good relationship with the school, businesses, and Chamber of Commerce. I don’t believe the 2023-2024 legislative sessions will hinder our relationships as we were already succeeding in collaboration prior.
How would you characterize the business climate in Forest Lake and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Forest Lake?
The business climate in Forest Lake is growing. As mentioned, our downtown corridor has a lot of space for growth that our community is craving. In the last few years, in hiring new staff and completing a Downtown Plan, we have really focused on the city being more proactive in attracting businesses to come to Forest Lake and working with our current businesses to ensure they have a good experience.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
Forest Lake is well known for having a great relationship with our public safety officers and because of that we are lucky to not face many challenges. Our goal is to continue that great relationship and encourage our public safety officers to keep up the great work they already do for our community.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
This is a very challenging topic. I don’t have a direct answer to solve that issue, but I think if the state collaborates with the cities, we can move in a direction that makes it easier for our community members.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
When doing reconstruction of roads, we always want to see sidewalks or trails be constructed to ensure we are setting our community members up for a user-friendly experience. We are always working with the county to proactively plan for a city that is interconnected with sidewalks and trails. We have several county roads in the works to be reconstructed with the addition of trails, so we will soon see our main corridors be interconnected.
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?
Our 10-year budget plan ensures the city is fiscally responsible. With it, we can look out to see where those one-time funds will end, ensuring we appropriately budget for the years to come.
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?
Those two issues have yet to reach the doorstep of the Forest Lake government. One issue that has is affordable housing as the State had two bills on the table that would take local control from cities and give it to the state. With these big issues arising, the state legislature needs to collaborate with local leaders, city and county, to ensure the bills they will be discussing and voting on are bills that local leaders and governments can work with. Working together is the only way we can start improving on these big issues.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone:
Campaign Website: hannavalento.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/hanna.valento.citycouncil/
Candidate Bio
I have been serving my community on the Forest Lake City Council since 2021. During my first term, and for the first time for the city, a 10-year budget plan was created and approved. This plan has helped shape the trajectory of Forest Lake, transitioning the city to become more proactive. We have been able to appropriately start funding our roads and move in that same direction for our parks, which have both been historically underfunded. I am also part of the Forest Lake Rotary, and always look forward to our Winter Plunge.
I grew up in Hugo and went to the Forest Lake schools, graduating in 2013. My background is government work. I am currently the Legal and Policy Counsel for the Chief Executive for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. In this role, I review and draft Executive Orders, bills, memoranda, letters, compacts, and more. I have experience in every branch of government and experience at the city level, state level, and tribal level. I have loved serving in government and getting to understand the roles each government plays.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
My style of leadership is unique.
First, some say I don’t argue or talk enough during a meeting, but I don’t believe everything is a fight or something waiting to be disagreed upon. I believe in collaboration, and that, as adults, we can get to a middle ground for the best interest of our community.
Second, I remind myself to always remain objective. Even though Forest Lake has a population of a little over 20,000 people, it can still feel like a small town. With a small-town feel, sometimes it’s who you know. I enjoy the small-town feel, but I will not entertain favoritism based on who you know. Everyone must follow our ordinances and policies to create a fair process for all.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
My top three priorities are:
- to follow our ten-year budget plan;
- to encourage economic development; and
- to prioritize the City’s internal organization.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Forest Lake?
The biggest challenge in Forest Lake is internal organization. The city leadership has historically cut budgets, combined jobs, and out-sourced positions. Ten years later and we are still trying to get to a place that is sustainable and operational for Forest Lake. It will take time, but with good leadership and staff, we will get there.
The biggest opportunity is economic development. We have a rundown downtown and open land. First, our community is craving a revitalized downtown to draw our own community members to shop and eat, and to make our downtown corridor a destination to drive to for shopping and eating. We have a new restaurant that is opening soon that has done a wonderful job of sprucing the building up, I am greatly looking forward to visiting once they open. We also have a few other restaurants that have recently opened in the downtown corridor, which makes me hopeful for the future. Second, Forest Lake has a lot of green space for single-family homes in the south-western portion of the city. Within the last two years, we hired a Community Development Director to discuss and plan with developers to create an easier experience working with the city. Currently, in discussing next year’s budget, we are weighing the option of adding another position – EDA Supervisor – to the city, which would be an investment to the city to better help us communicate with developers and move the city in the right direction.
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?
Forest Lake is well known for our collaboration with our different entities throughout the city. We have a good relationship with the school, businesses, and Chamber of Commerce. I don’t believe the 2023-2024 legislative sessions will hinder our relationships as we were already succeeding in collaboration prior.
How would you characterize the business climate in Forest Lake and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Forest Lake?
The business climate in Forest Lake is growing. As mentioned, our downtown corridor has a lot of space for growth that our community is craving. In the last few years, in hiring new staff and completing a Downtown Plan, we have really focused on the city being more proactive in attracting businesses to come to Forest Lake and working with our current businesses to ensure they have a good experience.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
Forest Lake is well known for having a great relationship with our public safety officers and because of that we are lucky to not face many challenges. Our goal is to continue that great relationship and encourage our public safety officers to keep up the great work they already do for our community.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
This is a very challenging topic. I don’t have a direct answer to solve that issue, but I think if the state collaborates with the cities, we can move in a direction that makes it easier for our community members.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
When doing reconstruction of roads, we always want to see sidewalks or trails be constructed to ensure we are setting our community members up for a user-friendly experience. We are always working with the county to proactively plan for a city that is interconnected with sidewalks and trails. We have several county roads in the works to be reconstructed with the addition of trails, so we will soon see our main corridors be interconnected.
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?
Our 10-year budget plan ensures the city is fiscally responsible. With it, we can look out to see where those one-time funds will end, ensuring we appropriately budget for the years to come.
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?
Those two issues have yet to reach the doorstep of the Forest Lake government. One issue that has is affordable housing as the State had two bills on the table that would take local control from cities and give it to the state. With these big issues arising, the state legislature needs to collaborate with local leaders, city and county, to ensure the bills they will be discussing and voting on are bills that local leaders and governments can work with. Working together is the only way we can start improving on these big issues.