Kevin Zabel
Name: Kevin Zabel
Public Office Sought: Oakdale Mayor
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 612-227-1186
Website: www.zabel4oakdale.com
Twitter: @kevinjzabel
Facebook: Kevin Zabel for Oakdale Mayor
Candidate Bio
Education: Bachelors in Political Science from University of St. Thomas, Masters in Political Management from the George Washington University.
Former Oakdale Planning Commission Chair
City Council Member elected in 2016.
I work for the Minnesota Realtors Association, handling marketing and communications efforts to Realtors and homeowners across the state.
Business climate
1. How would you characterize the business climate in Oakdale?
Strong, but always room for improvement. We are seeing numerous local businesses expand their existing footprint in our community and the City stands ready to help them whenever possible.
2. What role do you think the City should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and how would your administration actively solicit new businesses to, and retain existing businesses in, Oakdale?
Oakdale has a long relationship with our local chamber and business community, but as Mayor, I want to deploy a slightly different approach in communicating with our businesses. As Mayor, I will launch a robust business retention campaign that sends a councilmember and/or the mayor to every business, every year for a one-on-one meeting with the owner and staff to discuss that business’ needs and desires from city government. Oakdale needs to be more proactive in our communication efforts and not wait until something goes wrong to have an open dialogue with businesses.
3. Will you commit to hiring a business advocate as a member of your senior staff, to concentrate on business retention and expansion; new business recruitment; and business impact of proposed regulations on the business climate in Oakdale?
Oakdale is fortunate to have a dedicated and experienced staff that has a well-documented track record of supporting new, current and potential businesses in our city. If there is ever any change in our staff, continuing this strong support for our business community will be a requirement.
4. Do you support an increase to the minimum wage in Oakdale? If so, what specific steps would you take to understand the impact of an increase on the many types of businesses in Oakdale and do you support proposals to mitigate the effects on businesses like a tip credit, a youth wage, a training wage, and/or a phase-in?
I do not believe Oakdale City Hall is the appropriate venue to decide on a minimum wage increase. I feel strongly that that is a policy issue that state legislators in St. Paul needs to address.
5. Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Oakdale (such as mandatory sick time or scheduling notice)? If so, what specific steps would you take to understand the impact of an increase on the many types of businesses in Oakdale and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
I do not support changes in employment law, such as mandatory sick time and scheduling notice, by Oakdale government because I feel strongly that that is a policy issue that state legislators in St. Paul needs to address.
Public safety
6. What is your strategy to address public safety concerns?
Oakdale’s public safety strategy must continue to be two-pronged – a strong and experienced police force and deep connections with the community and local community groups. My focus as Mayor will be to deep those ties with the community by opening new channels of communication with all residents. As a councilmember, my personal policy towards residents contacting me has been “Anywhere, Anytime.” We should develop a similar strategy that always works to make residents more comfortable interacting with city government and law enforcement, not just at times of emergency.
Budget
7. What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
Since being on the City Council, I have been committed to keeping our city funds and reserves in the black. Even as we have encountered unforeseen, large expenditures, I have actively worked with city staff to explore ways to use existing funds and avoid taking on additional debt. As Mayor, I will continue that.
8. How do you view the relationship between commercial and residential property taxes?
The relationship is directly linked. As either commercial or residential taxes rise or fall, the other is often forced to compensate for the difference. Oakdale is lucky to have stable bases for both, and future expansions in our residential and commercial bases will help keep that relationship strong and stable.
9. What will you do to expand Oakdale’s tax base?
An April Pioneer Press story highlighted a number of development and re-development projects in the city of Oakdale that would add $2 billion to our city’s tax base. I am committed to working with our city staff to get projects of financial benefit to Oakdale residents completed.
Workforce development
10. How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
My work with the Minnesota REALTORS® Association has exposed me to just how big of a labor crisis we are facing, particularly in the building trades. The gap our economy sustained with the layoffs and retirements during the recession and the elimination of critical vocational classes in schools have put us at a labor disadvantage. As important as a 4-year education, we need to work with our partners in education to equally expose students to both options – skilled vocational trades and 4-year college. As Mayor, I will work to create a hands-on job shadowing program between area students and city operations.
11. What do you see as the mayor’s role with regard to public schools in Oakdale?
The Mayor needs to be a strong advocate for our local schools and work with school officials to find opportunities to partner.
Other
12. What is the biggest challenge facing the city and how would you address it?
Water quality and contamination is an issue for Oakdale. While our water is safe for residents to consume, with the recent settlement with 3M, we have the opportunity to use funds from that settlement. I believe Oakdale should explore hooking up to regional water services to solve our issues with contaminants in the local aquifer.
13. What would be your top three priorities if elected?
Tackle large infrastructure projects in a fiscally-responsible way
Increase resident engagement by adapting our communications plan
Boost public safety by developing relationships between resident, community groups and police
14. What do you think should be the city’s top transportation related priority?
The proposed-BRT is a huge transportation project in our city. While I remain supportive of the project and the surrounding development it could kickstart, I maintain reservations about possible construction cost burdens it places on Oakdale residents. All along, Oakdale has been told that there would be no construction cost burdens places on the city. If those details change now, Oakdale has to look at our participation.
15. Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Or, are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
No
16. Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
My grandfather always taught me that society works best when people get off the sidelines and participate. I think that is especially true for the young people in our community who want to make Oakdale the place they raise a family. That’s why I am running – to do my part to make Oakdale a great place to live and work, now and in the future
Public Office Sought: Oakdale Mayor
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 612-227-1186
Website: www.zabel4oakdale.com
Twitter: @kevinjzabel
Facebook: Kevin Zabel for Oakdale Mayor
Candidate Bio
Education: Bachelors in Political Science from University of St. Thomas, Masters in Political Management from the George Washington University.
Former Oakdale Planning Commission Chair
City Council Member elected in 2016.
I work for the Minnesota Realtors Association, handling marketing and communications efforts to Realtors and homeowners across the state.
Business climate
1. How would you characterize the business climate in Oakdale?
Strong, but always room for improvement. We are seeing numerous local businesses expand their existing footprint in our community and the City stands ready to help them whenever possible.
2. What role do you think the City should have in attracting and retaining jobs, and how would your administration actively solicit new businesses to, and retain existing businesses in, Oakdale?
Oakdale has a long relationship with our local chamber and business community, but as Mayor, I want to deploy a slightly different approach in communicating with our businesses. As Mayor, I will launch a robust business retention campaign that sends a councilmember and/or the mayor to every business, every year for a one-on-one meeting with the owner and staff to discuss that business’ needs and desires from city government. Oakdale needs to be more proactive in our communication efforts and not wait until something goes wrong to have an open dialogue with businesses.
3. Will you commit to hiring a business advocate as a member of your senior staff, to concentrate on business retention and expansion; new business recruitment; and business impact of proposed regulations on the business climate in Oakdale?
Oakdale is fortunate to have a dedicated and experienced staff that has a well-documented track record of supporting new, current and potential businesses in our city. If there is ever any change in our staff, continuing this strong support for our business community will be a requirement.
4. Do you support an increase to the minimum wage in Oakdale? If so, what specific steps would you take to understand the impact of an increase on the many types of businesses in Oakdale and do you support proposals to mitigate the effects on businesses like a tip credit, a youth wage, a training wage, and/or a phase-in?
I do not believe Oakdale City Hall is the appropriate venue to decide on a minimum wage increase. I feel strongly that that is a policy issue that state legislators in St. Paul needs to address.
5. Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Oakdale (such as mandatory sick time or scheduling notice)? If so, what specific steps would you take to understand the impact of an increase on the many types of businesses in Oakdale and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
I do not support changes in employment law, such as mandatory sick time and scheduling notice, by Oakdale government because I feel strongly that that is a policy issue that state legislators in St. Paul needs to address.
Public safety
6. What is your strategy to address public safety concerns?
Oakdale’s public safety strategy must continue to be two-pronged – a strong and experienced police force and deep connections with the community and local community groups. My focus as Mayor will be to deep those ties with the community by opening new channels of communication with all residents. As a councilmember, my personal policy towards residents contacting me has been “Anywhere, Anytime.” We should develop a similar strategy that always works to make residents more comfortable interacting with city government and law enforcement, not just at times of emergency.
Budget
7. What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
Since being on the City Council, I have been committed to keeping our city funds and reserves in the black. Even as we have encountered unforeseen, large expenditures, I have actively worked with city staff to explore ways to use existing funds and avoid taking on additional debt. As Mayor, I will continue that.
8. How do you view the relationship between commercial and residential property taxes?
The relationship is directly linked. As either commercial or residential taxes rise or fall, the other is often forced to compensate for the difference. Oakdale is lucky to have stable bases for both, and future expansions in our residential and commercial bases will help keep that relationship strong and stable.
9. What will you do to expand Oakdale’s tax base?
An April Pioneer Press story highlighted a number of development and re-development projects in the city of Oakdale that would add $2 billion to our city’s tax base. I am committed to working with our city staff to get projects of financial benefit to Oakdale residents completed.
Workforce development
10. How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
My work with the Minnesota REALTORS® Association has exposed me to just how big of a labor crisis we are facing, particularly in the building trades. The gap our economy sustained with the layoffs and retirements during the recession and the elimination of critical vocational classes in schools have put us at a labor disadvantage. As important as a 4-year education, we need to work with our partners in education to equally expose students to both options – skilled vocational trades and 4-year college. As Mayor, I will work to create a hands-on job shadowing program between area students and city operations.
11. What do you see as the mayor’s role with regard to public schools in Oakdale?
The Mayor needs to be a strong advocate for our local schools and work with school officials to find opportunities to partner.
Other
12. What is the biggest challenge facing the city and how would you address it?
Water quality and contamination is an issue for Oakdale. While our water is safe for residents to consume, with the recent settlement with 3M, we have the opportunity to use funds from that settlement. I believe Oakdale should explore hooking up to regional water services to solve our issues with contaminants in the local aquifer.
13. What would be your top three priorities if elected?
Tackle large infrastructure projects in a fiscally-responsible way
Increase resident engagement by adapting our communications plan
Boost public safety by developing relationships between resident, community groups and police
14. What do you think should be the city’s top transportation related priority?
The proposed-BRT is a huge transportation project in our city. While I remain supportive of the project and the surrounding development it could kickstart, I maintain reservations about possible construction cost burdens it places on Oakdale residents. All along, Oakdale has been told that there would be no construction cost burdens places on the city. If those details change now, Oakdale has to look at our participation.
15. Are there any services currently provided by the city that you believe should be cut back or eliminated? Or, are there new opportunities to share services with other entities?
No
16. Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
My grandfather always taught me that society works best when people get off the sidelines and participate. I think that is especially true for the young people in our community who want to make Oakdale the place they raise a family. That’s why I am running – to do my part to make Oakdale a great place to live and work, now and in the future