Laura Greenlee-Karp
Name: Laura Greenlee-Karp
Public Office Sought: North Saint Paul City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone:
Website: www.votelgk.com
Twitter handle: @votelgk
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VoteLGK
Candidate Bio
I live, work, and volunteer in North St Paul. I am the Youth Programs Coordinator for District 622 Community Education. I serve as the Vice-Chair of the North St Paul Parks and Recreation Commission. It is both my job, and my passion to build community, advocate, and make change for the citizens of North St Paul.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
My top three priorities if elected would be to building strong community partnerships, help ALL citizens voice to be heard, and representation of our community in our leadership.
How would you characterize the business climate in North Saint Paul and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
North St. Paul is in a time of economic development and change. The city is investing in new residential and commercial infrastructure downtown. This is an opportunity for us to open our doors to new local business owners and turn our downtown into a destination for visitors and residents. By bringing revenue into our city, we are investing in our community, infrastructure, and future.
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, North Saint Paul?
We need to understand what our citizens want in their town both now, and in the future. There are so many amazing small businesses without brick and mortar locations run by our community members. I would work with new and existing local business owners to grow their businesses and bring new jobs to North St Paul. Representation is important, and our businesses and business owners should be reflective of all of our citizens and their needs.
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in North Saint Paul (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 North Saint Paul and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Any of these decision would require conversations with all business owners to understand the impact on their businesses.
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
I would maintain the city’s focus on development and projects that will bring revenue to the city and that qualify for grants that will further help the city’s debt reduction.
What will you do to expand North Saint Paul’s tax base?
I would continue to bring in new housing projects that provide high quality, high density affordable and market rate housing. While maintaining the quality of our current housing with assistance for people in need with existing grants and loans, and consider expanding those programs if they prove to be effective. Seek out new and diverse businesses and continue to support existing businesses.
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 full time role is within the local school District. I spend a significant amount of time working to provide and promote pathways to post-secondary education or workforce opportunities for the young people of North St Paul. I would continue this work in partnership with the city.
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?
I am not looking to cut any services at this time. I will continue to look for opportunities to collaborate with other cities and the local school district to continue providing meaningful community building activities.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in North Saint Paul?
As the first LGTBQ+ candidate to run in North St. Paul, I am committed to expanding opportunities for women and BIPOC owned businesses through creating specialty grants that will attract and build deeper diversity within our business community.
What further policies can North Saint Paul adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
In the short term, I will encourage the city and the EDA to lobby for relief opportunities from the federal and state government and take on the role of actively promoting small businesses in our city. In the long term, I would like to examine the possibility of creating a special emergency relief fund for small businesses.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
North St Paul is a desirable location for new renters, homeowners, and families with its beautiful parks, rich history, and small-town feel. As new citizens join our 3 square mile town, our diversity is growing. We need leadership that understands that our diversity is our strength, and the future of North St. Paul depends on its ability to include new perspectives and ideas on how to keep our city appealing and relevant.
Our current City Council does not adequately represent our diverse population, leaving many groups of people unrepresented in our local government.Celebrating the diversity of each of us is important. We need to provide city communications in the languages spoken in North St. Paul, improve ADA accessibility in our sidewalks, and engage with our neighbors even when they do not look like us. We have the potential to make North St. Paul exactly what you want it to be. To do that, we need councilmembers dedicated to community feedback, the good, the bad, the new, and the creative. Laura is here to listen, take your hopes for our future, and turn them into action. A vote for Laura Greenlee-Karp is a vote for strong and diverse communities and responsive leadership.
You can reach me at [email protected]
Public Office Sought: North Saint Paul City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone:
Website: www.votelgk.com
Twitter handle: @votelgk
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/VoteLGK
Candidate Bio
I live, work, and volunteer in North St Paul. I am the Youth Programs Coordinator for District 622 Community Education. I serve as the Vice-Chair of the North St Paul Parks and Recreation Commission. It is both my job, and my passion to build community, advocate, and make change for the citizens of North St Paul.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
My top three priorities if elected would be to building strong community partnerships, help ALL citizens voice to be heard, and representation of our community in our leadership.
How would you characterize the business climate in North Saint Paul and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
North St. Paul is in a time of economic development and change. The city is investing in new residential and commercial infrastructure downtown. This is an opportunity for us to open our doors to new local business owners and turn our downtown into a destination for visitors and residents. By bringing revenue into our city, we are investing in our community, infrastructure, and future.
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, North Saint Paul?
We need to understand what our citizens want in their town both now, and in the future. There are so many amazing small businesses without brick and mortar locations run by our community members. I would work with new and existing local business owners to grow their businesses and bring new jobs to North St Paul. Representation is important, and our businesses and business owners should be reflective of all of our citizens and their needs.
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in North Saint Paul (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 North Saint Paul and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Any of these decision would require conversations with all business owners to understand the impact on their businesses.
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
- I would work to allocating funding to employee more full time fire fighters as our calls continue to rise.
- I would work with the police force to ensure that they are practicing community policing.
- I would work to bring multiple layers of housing into North St Paul (affordable, market rate, condos, and SFH’s) to ensure that we are serving the needs of our growing community.
- I would work to create accessibility for all within our city by prioritizing ADA development, bike travel, and the walkability of downtown.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
I would maintain the city’s focus on development and projects that will bring revenue to the city and that qualify for grants that will further help the city’s debt reduction.
What will you do to expand North Saint Paul’s tax base?
I would continue to bring in new housing projects that provide high quality, high density affordable and market rate housing. While maintaining the quality of our current housing with assistance for people in need with existing grants and loans, and consider expanding those programs if they prove to be effective. Seek out new and diverse businesses and continue to support existing businesses.
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 full time role is within the local school District. I spend a significant amount of time working to provide and promote pathways to post-secondary education or workforce opportunities for the young people of North St Paul. I would continue this work in partnership with the city.
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?
I am not looking to cut any services at this time. I will continue to look for opportunities to collaborate with other cities and the local school district to continue providing meaningful community building activities.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in North Saint Paul?
As the first LGTBQ+ candidate to run in North St. Paul, I am committed to expanding opportunities for women and BIPOC owned businesses through creating specialty grants that will attract and build deeper diversity within our business community.
What further policies can North Saint Paul adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
In the short term, I will encourage the city and the EDA to lobby for relief opportunities from the federal and state government and take on the role of actively promoting small businesses in our city. In the long term, I would like to examine the possibility of creating a special emergency relief fund for small businesses.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
North St Paul is a desirable location for new renters, homeowners, and families with its beautiful parks, rich history, and small-town feel. As new citizens join our 3 square mile town, our diversity is growing. We need leadership that understands that our diversity is our strength, and the future of North St. Paul depends on its ability to include new perspectives and ideas on how to keep our city appealing and relevant.
Our current City Council does not adequately represent our diverse population, leaving many groups of people unrepresented in our local government.Celebrating the diversity of each of us is important. We need to provide city communications in the languages spoken in North St. Paul, improve ADA accessibility in our sidewalks, and engage with our neighbors even when they do not look like us. We have the potential to make North St. Paul exactly what you want it to be. To do that, we need councilmembers dedicated to community feedback, the good, the bad, the new, and the creative. Laura is here to listen, take your hopes for our future, and turn them into action. A vote for Laura Greenlee-Karp is a vote for strong and diverse communities and responsive leadership.
You can reach me at [email protected]