Justin McCarthy
Name: Justin McCarthy
Public Office Sought: Birchwood Village City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 651-319-2247
Website: www.JustinForBirchwood.com
Twitter handle: none
Facebook page: none
Candidate Bio
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001 with a degree in Computer Science and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School with a Juris Doctorate in 2009. I currently practice Patent Law at a local law firm where I manage several client teams that deliver excellent quality and service. Ever since moving to Birchwood Village, I've been captivated by the friendly neighborhood environment and abundant natural beauty in the City. Despite this, there are numerous challenges that face our city in the coming years - from costly infrastructure repairs; traffic issues; the decaying of our parks; and other issues. I'm running for Birchwood Village City Council because I believe that I can bring an independent and fresh voice to solving these problems that also seeks input and listens to all our neighbors and capitalizes on our greatest resource in Birchwood - the knowledge and experience of our residents.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
1. Traffic Calming issues – Birchwood is a small community of entirely residential homes, but traffic is increasing as cars use our local roads as a short-cut around busier neighboring roads. I think it is important to address these issues by exploring traffic calming. These traffic issues may be exacerbated by the new Lake Links Trail and specifically the chosen traffic direction on the new South Shore Boulevard. I believe it is important to understand these effects for all the different potential orientations of South Shore and to involve the community in reaching a favorable recommendation to the other participants in Lake Links.
2. Increasing Community Involvement – Birchwood is a great community with lots of wonderful neighbors. Many of our neighbors have particular talents that could benefit Birchwood, but they do not have the time, or they do not want the expense of running for political office. City committees are a great way for these citizens to apply this expertise and to have a say in the community on a volunteer basis. Far too often, I've seen the City Council give little guidance to the committees. The City Council then disregards the committees' decisions. This leads committee members to become frustrated and leave. The City then laments the lack of community participation. The City has disbanded many of these committees due to disagreements with the committees or due to lack of interest (for example, the Parks Committee). I propose to re-establish these committees by coming to a shared agreement between the Council and the committee on how the committee should operate. Once the committee and the council come to an agreement, the committee decision should normally be respected by the City Council.
3. Fix our parks. Many of our parks, including Tighe-Schmitz park have suffered from years of maintenance neglect. We need to invest in our parks and improve them so that they are usable for our citizens.
How would you characterize the business climate in Birchwood Village and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses.
What role do you think the City should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and what steps would you take to solicit new businesses to, and retain existing businesses in, Birchwood Village?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, with no land zoned for commercial activities, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses. Therefore, there really is almost no role for the City in terms of attracting and retaining jobs other than jobs the City itself staffs.
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Birchwood Village (such as minimum wage, sick time, or mandatory scheduling notice)? If so, what steps would you take to understand the impact of an ordinance on the many types of businesses in Birchwood Village and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, with no land zoned for commercial activities, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses. Therefore, there really is almost no role for the City in terms of specific employment related ordinances.
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
As previously stated, we need to consider strategies to deter use of Birchwood Village roads by non-Birchwood residents. This improves safety for pedestrians and bikers.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
First, we need better long-term planning. We need to come up with a long term plan to replace and upgrade infrastructure and budget accordingly so that when things like lift-stations need to be replaced we aren’t passing the entire cost to the taxpayers at the last minute or taking money from other services.
Second, we need to make smart choices. Sometimes the cheapest options are not always the best options because the service we receive is not good.
Third, we need more accountability and transparency. Expenses on the expense report are sometimes vague. The public should be able to tell from a glance what an expense was for and why it was taken.
What will you do to expand Birchwood Village's tax base?
Given that Birchwood Village is entirely residential, there are limited opportunities to expand the tax base. One way in which the tax base may be expanded is through making it easier for homeowners to improve their properties. For example, many Birchwood residents have told me that they are either not improving their properties or if they did improve their properties, they had a very difficult time with the City. I want to smartly relax the building code and grant variances that are acceptable to neighbors and in character with the city. That being said, there is one new development being proposed for the City. The neighbors have already expressed concerns with flood management in that area and those concerns need to be addressed by the builder.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
Birchwood Village is experiencing an influx of young families and education is an important issue to these families. While Birchwood’s role in education is small, as Councilmember, I will work to foster a better relationship with the White Bear Lake school board to assist them when possible.
Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
At this time, I do not believe that any services should be cut back or eliminated, however, there may be opportunities to share services with surrounding communities to increase our level of service in a manner that is cost effective. For example, exploring how we might partner with other surrounding communities such as Mahtomedi for snow plowing and maintenance services.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Birchwood Village?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses. Therefore, the City Council has a very minimal role in fostering increased minority and woman owned businesses.
What further policies can Birchwood Village adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses. Therefore, the City Council has a very minimal role in helping businesses recover from COVID-19.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
I believe I can provide a strong and independent voice that speaks for the residents of Birchwood Village. I am always happy to hear out all residents, even those that I don’t agree with.
Public Office Sought: Birchwood Village City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 651-319-2247
Website: www.JustinForBirchwood.com
Twitter handle: none
Facebook page: none
Candidate Bio
I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2001 with a degree in Computer Science and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Minnesota Law School with a Juris Doctorate in 2009. I currently practice Patent Law at a local law firm where I manage several client teams that deliver excellent quality and service. Ever since moving to Birchwood Village, I've been captivated by the friendly neighborhood environment and abundant natural beauty in the City. Despite this, there are numerous challenges that face our city in the coming years - from costly infrastructure repairs; traffic issues; the decaying of our parks; and other issues. I'm running for Birchwood Village City Council because I believe that I can bring an independent and fresh voice to solving these problems that also seeks input and listens to all our neighbors and capitalizes on our greatest resource in Birchwood - the knowledge and experience of our residents.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
1. Traffic Calming issues – Birchwood is a small community of entirely residential homes, but traffic is increasing as cars use our local roads as a short-cut around busier neighboring roads. I think it is important to address these issues by exploring traffic calming. These traffic issues may be exacerbated by the new Lake Links Trail and specifically the chosen traffic direction on the new South Shore Boulevard. I believe it is important to understand these effects for all the different potential orientations of South Shore and to involve the community in reaching a favorable recommendation to the other participants in Lake Links.
2. Increasing Community Involvement – Birchwood is a great community with lots of wonderful neighbors. Many of our neighbors have particular talents that could benefit Birchwood, but they do not have the time, or they do not want the expense of running for political office. City committees are a great way for these citizens to apply this expertise and to have a say in the community on a volunteer basis. Far too often, I've seen the City Council give little guidance to the committees. The City Council then disregards the committees' decisions. This leads committee members to become frustrated and leave. The City then laments the lack of community participation. The City has disbanded many of these committees due to disagreements with the committees or due to lack of interest (for example, the Parks Committee). I propose to re-establish these committees by coming to a shared agreement between the Council and the committee on how the committee should operate. Once the committee and the council come to an agreement, the committee decision should normally be respected by the City Council.
3. Fix our parks. Many of our parks, including Tighe-Schmitz park have suffered from years of maintenance neglect. We need to invest in our parks and improve them so that they are usable for our citizens.
How would you characterize the business climate in Birchwood Village and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses.
What role do you think the City should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and what steps would you take to solicit new businesses to, and retain existing businesses in, Birchwood Village?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, with no land zoned for commercial activities, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses. Therefore, there really is almost no role for the City in terms of attracting and retaining jobs other than jobs the City itself staffs.
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Birchwood Village (such as minimum wage, sick time, or mandatory scheduling notice)? If so, what steps would you take to understand the impact of an ordinance on the many types of businesses in Birchwood Village and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, with no land zoned for commercial activities, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses. Therefore, there really is almost no role for the City in terms of specific employment related ordinances.
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
As previously stated, we need to consider strategies to deter use of Birchwood Village roads by non-Birchwood residents. This improves safety for pedestrians and bikers.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
First, we need better long-term planning. We need to come up with a long term plan to replace and upgrade infrastructure and budget accordingly so that when things like lift-stations need to be replaced we aren’t passing the entire cost to the taxpayers at the last minute or taking money from other services.
Second, we need to make smart choices. Sometimes the cheapest options are not always the best options because the service we receive is not good.
Third, we need more accountability and transparency. Expenses on the expense report are sometimes vague. The public should be able to tell from a glance what an expense was for and why it was taken.
What will you do to expand Birchwood Village's tax base?
Given that Birchwood Village is entirely residential, there are limited opportunities to expand the tax base. One way in which the tax base may be expanded is through making it easier for homeowners to improve their properties. For example, many Birchwood residents have told me that they are either not improving their properties or if they did improve their properties, they had a very difficult time with the City. I want to smartly relax the building code and grant variances that are acceptable to neighbors and in character with the city. That being said, there is one new development being proposed for the City. The neighbors have already expressed concerns with flood management in that area and those concerns need to be addressed by the builder.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
Birchwood Village is experiencing an influx of young families and education is an important issue to these families. While Birchwood’s role in education is small, as Councilmember, I will work to foster a better relationship with the White Bear Lake school board to assist them when possible.
Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
At this time, I do not believe that any services should be cut back or eliminated, however, there may be opportunities to share services with surrounding communities to increase our level of service in a manner that is cost effective. For example, exploring how we might partner with other surrounding communities such as Mahtomedi for snow plowing and maintenance services.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Birchwood Village?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses. Therefore, the City Council has a very minimal role in fostering increased minority and woman owned businesses.
What further policies can Birchwood Village adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
Since Birchwood Village is a strictly residential community, we have no commercial land or businesses aside from home-based businesses. Therefore, the City Council has a very minimal role in helping businesses recover from COVID-19.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
I believe I can provide a strong and independent voice that speaks for the residents of Birchwood Village. I am always happy to hear out all residents, even those that I don’t agree with.