Linda P. Ji
Name: Linda P. Ji
Public Office Sought: Woodbury City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone:
Website:
Twitter handle:
Facebook page:
Candidate Bio
I am a 56 year-old Chinese-American woman and a 25 year resident of Woodbury. I have been married for 30 years and have two adult children. I have degree in mechanical engineering and a law degree. I am a licensed Minnesota attorney. Before law school, I worked in environmental programs for naval facilities. After law school I took the patent bar and practiced patent prosecution for a law firm in Minneapolis. Mostly I handled patent applications in speech recognition algorithms and mechanical assemblies. I stopped working as a patent attorney due to family responsibilities. Since then I have been involved with raising my kids and getting involved with church and community. I completed more than ten 5k races. I cook supper every night. I volunteer with the Salvation Army and Fairview Health. During the pandemic, I have developed skills in sewing homemade facemasks and donate dozens per week. Over the years, I did my best to help people as a Christian attorney, especially people having troubles with the government. This included visiting people in homes, hospitals, and jails. Basically, I was trying to put people in a better place. My biggest accomplishment to the community was helping a man get his house back from Washington County after the house had been tax-forfeited. My pastor in Woodbury had asked me to look into the case – so I did. I discovered that Washington County failed to offer this man the option of a ten-year repayment plan for back taxes. I convinced the County Board that the man should have been offered a ten-year repayment plan and the County Board agreed. So the County Board overruled staff and returned the house to this taxpayer.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
My first priority is getting the community through the COVID-19 pandemic as well as social justice issues exposed by the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis and subsequent social unrest. Businesses need extra help from the government to survive and recover from this pandemic. That takes money. Many residents are sheltering at home and some may not have access to adequate food, medicine, and/or health care. Woodbury needs to help ensure that these residents have their urgent needs met. Also, Woodbury needs to get through the current social unrest by being smart, building bridges, and not antagonizing communities of color. Big law firms in Minneapolis are looking for pro bono social justice cases to raise their profiles. It is critical for Woodbury to avoid getting ensnared in litigation as a defendant in social justice cases.
Second, Groundwater sufficiency and contamination are big issues for Woodbury. Developers are looking to continue building new homes and businesses in all the remaining vacant land between Woodbury and Cottage Grove. However, Woodbury has already shut down multiple city wells due to chemical contamination found in the groundwater. The groundwater contamination from historical chemical dumping is well-known. The State of Minnesota sued 3M over the contamination and there was a settlement. The state and local officials need to be more transparent with Woodbury residents. We need to see the plan for providing clean water for existing and future development. Is there really enough water for everything planned? That’s the question. Personally, I believe Woodbury is in danger of insufficient clean groundwater for even the existing development with the spreading plume of contamination in groundwater. We must consider new strategies such as installing gray water lines as already exist in California and other states. Gray water lines are used to pipe storm water to golf courses, businesses, and homes so that lawns are watered with storm water and not groundwater. This saves groundwater for use inside homes and businesses. Gray water lines would also reduce risk of flooding because storm water is discharged on lawns and does not back up in storm water holding ponds.
Third, many homes and townhouse are included in homeowners associations or “HOAs” that were required in development plans. The HOAs hire management companies that collect fees and provide services, such as trash removal and lawn care. For townhouse communities, these management companies also build up large reserves to pay for future repairs such as new roofs and siding. However, currently Woodbury provides little to no oversight over these management companies and relies on volunteer resident boards to provide oversight. I think this is inadequate because the board members often meet once per year. The meetings and information provided to board members are controlled entirely by the management companies. So far, I have been involved with two HOAs in Woodbury and both HOAs had management companies that mishandled HOA funds. Also, one management company skipped maintenance that was required by the original builder. For example, dryer vents were not cleaned regularly and this neglect is/was creating fire hazard in one or more townhouse communities in Woodbury. I warned the management company of this issue. In my opinion, Woodbury needs to protect residents and their property by providing city oversight to management companies of HOA communities. Volunteer resident boards are necessary but insufficient oversight.
How would you characterize the business climate in Woodbury and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
I believe the business climate in Woodbury is currently under severe stress due to the pandemic and social justice issues. The role of business is multi-dimensional and critical to quality of life. Businesses provide income to employees and goods and services to the community. Businesses enhance the reputation and sense of well-being of the community. The business climate will always indicate the quality of life of the community.
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, Woodbury?
The city should provide an environment that’s conducive to attracting and retaining jobs. The city should focus on education, housing, and quality of life of residents. Taxes should be moderate and city government should avoid unnecessary mandates and red tape. It is always best to work with businesses voluntarily and avoid dictating to businesses. I believe Woodbury should take steps to become a health care destination, especially since Minnesota is seeking to become Destination Medical Center. The city could use incentives to attract health care providers and other medical-related companies and start-ups. Woodbury should build connections to Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, and private companies such as Medtronic.
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Woodbury (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 Woodbury and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Generally, I am not in favor of city intrusion into private employer-employee relationships. However, I would like to see better workforce development and training opportunities in Woodbury. Personally, I think the Washington County Workforce Center in Woodbury is not doing enough to develop and train residents for today’s jobs. The current model is dated and tends to focus on entry level jobs that would not pay enough to support a family or even an individual in Woodbury. So I would propose working with Washington County to upgrade the workforce center’s services to help Woodbury residents develop relationships with area employers, train for new jobs, and advance in existing jobs.
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
There is a lot of information requested in Item 6. Regarding public safety, I do believe that so many public safety issues are related to mental health and chemical dependency. I do believe that Washington County and Woodbury could be doing more to address these two issues. Generally, I am in favor of a supportive rather than punitive approach. I am also concerned that Washington County and Woodbury police need to do a better job with our high schools. To me, the biggest dangers are teen suicide and school shootings. I don’t believe the current approach of random drug sweeps through high school parking lots and locker areas are reducing the dangers of teen suicide and school shootings. I actually think these approaches are making teens fearful of authority figures. I also believe that Woodbury police focus too much energy on shoplifting at big box stores. Woodbury residents suffer far more damage from financial and internet-related crimes. I believe Woodbury also needs to upgrade its police capabilities to address financial and internet-related crimes.
Regarding housing, I think it is important that Woodbury offer housing at all price points, including single family, townhouses, apartments, and condos. I think Woodbury should participate in federal and state programs to build affordable housing. Importantly, I do believe we need to address our groundwater sufficiency and contamination issues because these issues can and will affect housing in Woodbury.
Regarding transportation, I believe that most Woodbury residents have access to cars. But I also appreciate the express bus service to Minneapolis and Saint Paul and have used this bus service before. I do think Woodbury could help connect residents to form carpools and perhaps provide carpool parking. However, with the pandemic many Woodbury residents are working from home, which has greatly reduced traffic in Woodbury. Therefore, I would support reasonable efforts to support Woodbury residents working from home.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
One priority is addressing the groundwater situation including contamination of city wells. I believe we need to look at strategies such as gray water lines that would use storm water to water lawns and golf courses. Another priority is to upgrade the Woodbury police so it is capable of investigating complex financial crimes and crimes using the internet. Another priority is developing a system of oversight of management companies of HOA communities. Another priority is developing an in-house city attorney’s office.
What will you do to expand Woodbury’s tax base?
The most important thing to expanding Woodbury’s tax base is simply being smart enough to protect the property values of Woodbury’s current tax base and not have this tax base eroded by groundwater shortage and contamination. Protecting the tax base includes engaging with all communities to prevent social unrest from damaging Woodbury’s reputation and buildings. Protecting this tax base means being smart and keeping conduct standards high so Woodbury is not dragged into endless lawsuits that damage Woodbury’s reputation and pocketbook. If we do our jobs well then Woodbury’s property values will continue to appreciate because people would see that Woodbury is a great place to live. Appreciating property values would expand Woodbury’s tax base.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
I think we have done a great job with getting our kids into four-year colleges. However, I believe we need to do a better job with educating kids with actual hand-skills and certificates for real jobs. I would work with businesses to find out what skills they are looking for in employees. Then I would work with K-12 and post-secondary education institutions and businesses to provide kids with the right skills. I also think internships would be helpful for both students and businesses. I don’t see any reason why K-12 couldn’t provide some assistance with helping set up and manage internships.
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 think we need to eliminate the contract arrangement that Woodbury has with a private law firm in Hudson, Wisconsin. I think it is too expensive to pay a private law firm for all city legal services. Basically, we need in-house counsel for a city our size. Outside law firms should be hired on an as-needed basis. Woodbury should share services with Washington County, churches, non-profits, school districts, and other local cities for all goods and services to special needs communities. Special needs communities include elderly, disabled, low income, foster care, criminal justice, and racial minorities. Goods and services would include food programs, respite care, companionship, recreation, transportation, day care, health care, internet access and technology.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Woodbury?
I am a woman of color and I wouldn’t expect the City Council to do something extra for me if I decided to start a business. However, I do believe Woodbury should provide a level playing field so that minority- and women-owned businesses can thrive. To me that means transparent contract administration where people of color and women get a fair chance at winning city contracts. Also, city council should ensure that bias or racial profiling is not tolerated. Consider creating a human rights committee to accept and evaluate complaints for discrimination.
What further policies can Woodbury adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
I would consider municipal bonds and/or property tax relief to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
My son, Michael, was born with Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder associated with developmental disability. I have a lot of personal life experience dealing with disability issues. Michael is followed by Mayo Clinic.
My husband, Hong, is a physicist by training. He is now general manager of the Bug Company of Minnesota in Ham Lake. The company is in the pet food business and raises crickets and other bugs for reptiles on a commercial scale.
My daughter, Rachel, recently graduated from Biola University in California after transferring from Century College in White Bear Lake. She plans to start her first job as an orthotics and prosthetics fabrication specialist.
Public Office Sought: Woodbury City Council
Email: [email protected]
Phone:
Website:
Twitter handle:
Facebook page:
Candidate Bio
I am a 56 year-old Chinese-American woman and a 25 year resident of Woodbury. I have been married for 30 years and have two adult children. I have degree in mechanical engineering and a law degree. I am a licensed Minnesota attorney. Before law school, I worked in environmental programs for naval facilities. After law school I took the patent bar and practiced patent prosecution for a law firm in Minneapolis. Mostly I handled patent applications in speech recognition algorithms and mechanical assemblies. I stopped working as a patent attorney due to family responsibilities. Since then I have been involved with raising my kids and getting involved with church and community. I completed more than ten 5k races. I cook supper every night. I volunteer with the Salvation Army and Fairview Health. During the pandemic, I have developed skills in sewing homemade facemasks and donate dozens per week. Over the years, I did my best to help people as a Christian attorney, especially people having troubles with the government. This included visiting people in homes, hospitals, and jails. Basically, I was trying to put people in a better place. My biggest accomplishment to the community was helping a man get his house back from Washington County after the house had been tax-forfeited. My pastor in Woodbury had asked me to look into the case – so I did. I discovered that Washington County failed to offer this man the option of a ten-year repayment plan for back taxes. I convinced the County Board that the man should have been offered a ten-year repayment plan and the County Board agreed. So the County Board overruled staff and returned the house to this taxpayer.
What would be your top three priorities if elected?
My first priority is getting the community through the COVID-19 pandemic as well as social justice issues exposed by the George Floyd incident in Minneapolis and subsequent social unrest. Businesses need extra help from the government to survive and recover from this pandemic. That takes money. Many residents are sheltering at home and some may not have access to adequate food, medicine, and/or health care. Woodbury needs to help ensure that these residents have their urgent needs met. Also, Woodbury needs to get through the current social unrest by being smart, building bridges, and not antagonizing communities of color. Big law firms in Minneapolis are looking for pro bono social justice cases to raise their profiles. It is critical for Woodbury to avoid getting ensnared in litigation as a defendant in social justice cases.
Second, Groundwater sufficiency and contamination are big issues for Woodbury. Developers are looking to continue building new homes and businesses in all the remaining vacant land between Woodbury and Cottage Grove. However, Woodbury has already shut down multiple city wells due to chemical contamination found in the groundwater. The groundwater contamination from historical chemical dumping is well-known. The State of Minnesota sued 3M over the contamination and there was a settlement. The state and local officials need to be more transparent with Woodbury residents. We need to see the plan for providing clean water for existing and future development. Is there really enough water for everything planned? That’s the question. Personally, I believe Woodbury is in danger of insufficient clean groundwater for even the existing development with the spreading plume of contamination in groundwater. We must consider new strategies such as installing gray water lines as already exist in California and other states. Gray water lines are used to pipe storm water to golf courses, businesses, and homes so that lawns are watered with storm water and not groundwater. This saves groundwater for use inside homes and businesses. Gray water lines would also reduce risk of flooding because storm water is discharged on lawns and does not back up in storm water holding ponds.
Third, many homes and townhouse are included in homeowners associations or “HOAs” that were required in development plans. The HOAs hire management companies that collect fees and provide services, such as trash removal and lawn care. For townhouse communities, these management companies also build up large reserves to pay for future repairs such as new roofs and siding. However, currently Woodbury provides little to no oversight over these management companies and relies on volunteer resident boards to provide oversight. I think this is inadequate because the board members often meet once per year. The meetings and information provided to board members are controlled entirely by the management companies. So far, I have been involved with two HOAs in Woodbury and both HOAs had management companies that mishandled HOA funds. Also, one management company skipped maintenance that was required by the original builder. For example, dryer vents were not cleaned regularly and this neglect is/was creating fire hazard in one or more townhouse communities in Woodbury. I warned the management company of this issue. In my opinion, Woodbury needs to protect residents and their property by providing city oversight to management companies of HOA communities. Volunteer resident boards are necessary but insufficient oversight.
How would you characterize the business climate in Woodbury and what is the role of businesses supporting quality of life issues in the community?
I believe the business climate in Woodbury is currently under severe stress due to the pandemic and social justice issues. The role of business is multi-dimensional and critical to quality of life. Businesses provide income to employees and goods and services to the community. Businesses enhance the reputation and sense of well-being of the community. The business climate will always indicate the quality of life of the community.
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, Woodbury?
The city should provide an environment that’s conducive to attracting and retaining jobs. The city should focus on education, housing, and quality of life of residents. Taxes should be moderate and city government should avoid unnecessary mandates and red tape. It is always best to work with businesses voluntarily and avoid dictating to businesses. I believe Woodbury should take steps to become a health care destination, especially since Minnesota is seeking to become Destination Medical Center. The city could use incentives to attract health care providers and other medical-related companies and start-ups. Woodbury should build connections to Mayo Clinic, the University of Minnesota, and private companies such as Medtronic.
Do you support any other specific employment-related proposals in Woodbury (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 Woodbury and how would you define any exceptions to those policies?
Generally, I am not in favor of city intrusion into private employer-employee relationships. However, I would like to see better workforce development and training opportunities in Woodbury. Personally, I think the Washington County Workforce Center in Woodbury is not doing enough to develop and train residents for today’s jobs. The current model is dated and tends to focus on entry level jobs that would not pay enough to support a family or even an individual in Woodbury. So I would propose working with Washington County to upgrade the workforce center’s services to help Woodbury residents develop relationships with area employers, train for new jobs, and advance in existing jobs.
What are your strategies to address public safety, housing, and transportation issues facing your community?
There is a lot of information requested in Item 6. Regarding public safety, I do believe that so many public safety issues are related to mental health and chemical dependency. I do believe that Washington County and Woodbury could be doing more to address these two issues. Generally, I am in favor of a supportive rather than punitive approach. I am also concerned that Washington County and Woodbury police need to do a better job with our high schools. To me, the biggest dangers are teen suicide and school shootings. I don’t believe the current approach of random drug sweeps through high school parking lots and locker areas are reducing the dangers of teen suicide and school shootings. I actually think these approaches are making teens fearful of authority figures. I also believe that Woodbury police focus too much energy on shoplifting at big box stores. Woodbury residents suffer far more damage from financial and internet-related crimes. I believe Woodbury also needs to upgrade its police capabilities to address financial and internet-related crimes.
Regarding housing, I think it is important that Woodbury offer housing at all price points, including single family, townhouses, apartments, and condos. I think Woodbury should participate in federal and state programs to build affordable housing. Importantly, I do believe we need to address our groundwater sufficiency and contamination issues because these issues can and will affect housing in Woodbury.
Regarding transportation, I believe that most Woodbury residents have access to cars. But I also appreciate the express bus service to Minneapolis and Saint Paul and have used this bus service before. I do think Woodbury could help connect residents to form carpools and perhaps provide carpool parking. However, with the pandemic many Woodbury residents are working from home, which has greatly reduced traffic in Woodbury. Therefore, I would support reasonable efforts to support Woodbury residents working from home.
What are your priorities for the City’s budget?
One priority is addressing the groundwater situation including contamination of city wells. I believe we need to look at strategies such as gray water lines that would use storm water to water lawns and golf courses. Another priority is to upgrade the Woodbury police so it is capable of investigating complex financial crimes and crimes using the internet. Another priority is developing a system of oversight of management companies of HOA communities. Another priority is developing an in-house city attorney’s office.
What will you do to expand Woodbury’s tax base?
The most important thing to expanding Woodbury’s tax base is simply being smart enough to protect the property values of Woodbury’s current tax base and not have this tax base eroded by groundwater shortage and contamination. Protecting the tax base includes engaging with all communities to prevent social unrest from damaging Woodbury’s reputation and buildings. Protecting this tax base means being smart and keeping conduct standards high so Woodbury is not dragged into endless lawsuits that damage Woodbury’s reputation and pocketbook. If we do our jobs well then Woodbury’s property values will continue to appreciate because people would see that Woodbury is a great place to live. Appreciating property values would expand Woodbury’s tax base.
How will you work with K-12 and post-secondary educational institutions and businesses to ensure our region develops and retains an educated workforce?
I think we have done a great job with getting our kids into four-year colleges. However, I believe we need to do a better job with educating kids with actual hand-skills and certificates for real jobs. I would work with businesses to find out what skills they are looking for in employees. Then I would work with K-12 and post-secondary education institutions and businesses to provide kids with the right skills. I also think internships would be helpful for both students and businesses. I don’t see any reason why K-12 couldn’t provide some assistance with helping set up and manage internships.
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 think we need to eliminate the contract arrangement that Woodbury has with a private law firm in Hudson, Wisconsin. I think it is too expensive to pay a private law firm for all city legal services. Basically, we need in-house counsel for a city our size. Outside law firms should be hired on an as-needed basis. Woodbury should share services with Washington County, churches, non-profits, school districts, and other local cities for all goods and services to special needs communities. Special needs communities include elderly, disabled, low income, foster care, criminal justice, and racial minorities. Goods and services would include food programs, respite care, companionship, recreation, transportation, day care, health care, internet access and technology.
What is the role of the City Council in fostering increased minority- and women-owned businesses in Woodbury?
I am a woman of color and I wouldn’t expect the City Council to do something extra for me if I decided to start a business. However, I do believe Woodbury should provide a level playing field so that minority- and women-owned businesses can thrive. To me that means transparent contract administration where people of color and women get a fair chance at winning city contracts. Also, city council should ensure that bias or racial profiling is not tolerated. Consider creating a human rights committee to accept and evaluate complaints for discrimination.
What further policies can Woodbury adopt to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic?
I would consider municipal bonds and/or property tax relief to help the business community recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
My son, Michael, was born with Williams Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder associated with developmental disability. I have a lot of personal life experience dealing with disability issues. Michael is followed by Mayo Clinic.
My husband, Hong, is a physicist by training. He is now general manager of the Bug Company of Minnesota in Ham Lake. The company is in the pet food business and raises crickets and other bugs for reptiles on a commercial scale.
My daughter, Rachel, recently graduated from Biola University in California after transferring from Century College in White Bear Lake. She plans to start her first job as an orthotics and prosthetics fabrication specialist.