Sue Denkinger
Name: Sue Denkinger
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-260-1940
Campaign Website: suedenkinger.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page: Sue Denkinger for Shoreview Mayor
Candidate Bio
As a 34-year resident and homeowner in Shoreview, I appreciate the high level of local government, excellent schools, public safety, and quality level of services and amenities that residents experience and value. I was elected as Shoreview mayor in 2022 following serving as a city council member since 2016. Appointed to the Shoreview Economic Development Authority in 2013 where I continue to serve. My first local government experience was as a volunteer member of the Economic Development Commission for over 9 years. I also served as Past President and Executive Board member of the Ramsey County League of Local Governments and served as Shoreview representative and past president of the Lake Johanna Fire Department Board from 2021-2024. Prior to running for city council, I spent my career at Thomson Reuters in a variety of roles and leadership positions. There my most recent positions included Senior Director of Customer Service and Deployment Executive/Business Process owner both in the U.S. and internationally.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I bring a style of leadership that is collaborative and supportive of the values of the community. My business experience and roles involved bringing together various stakeholders toward a common goal, keeping to budget, and aligning ideas with effective execution. These skills have been invaluable to working in local government. It’s important to engage citizen input and effectively balance that with the strategic goals of the overall community, both in the present and looking toward the future.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
A) Continue Shoreview’s focus on economic development to keep our city taxes low. This includes working with new and existing businesses on quality job growth and strategic development projects. B) Continue our city’s strong efforts to grow housing, including affordable housing, via our inclusionary housing policy, and C) Focus on quality of life and these are very important to our community—maintaining our public safety, sustainability and Shoreview’s sense of community. Shoreview continues to leverage strategic budget and long-term financial planning to achieve its high level of service and amenities and keep city taxes low, even as state level resources may vary.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Shoreview?
Housing and the diversity needed in housing types is a challenge. In Shoreview we have had an increase in multi-family housing in the past several years with well over 1,000 new units. That is a positive move toward increased supply. We do have aging housing stock and residents who want to remain in Shoreview yet can struggle to find the type of housing they want when downsizing. With high interest rates and housing costs, it is a challenge for those looking to move to Shoreview and, in some cases, to remain in their homes.
The biggest opportunity in Shoreview lies in some areas where redevelopment would benefit the community. We are nearly a fully built out community so do not have a great deal of open land yet there will be opportunities as key properties become available.
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?
The ideal collaboration with the business community when it comes to tackling challenges is a partnership in when each brings their information and resources to the table so we can work together. In Shoreview this work is often focused through the economic development commission which supports business development and growth in a variety of ways. Our focus on collaboration with the business community is a local initiative that is part of our strategic goals. The outcomes from the most recent legislative session does not change our focus and partnership with the business community.
How would you characterize the business climate in Shoreview and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Shoreview?
The business climate in Shoreview is collaborative and that’s based on a strong Economic Development Commission as well as our city community development staff. The EDC and staff created a Business Retention and Expansion program that proactively reaches out to local businesses to determine their health, strategic direction and offer support as needed. The EDC consists of both residents and local business owners who work together with staff to provide a responsive and interactive culture for businesses. The EDC recently launched a new business e-newsletter to connect with and highlight local businesses and provide city updates. I also believe it is important for cities to leverage tools like TIF to attract and retain businesses. Coordination between the local Chamber of Commerce, cities and the county are important to coordinate resources to connect and assist local businesses. Local businesses build strong communities—they provide jobs, a solid tax base and are important for communities to thrive.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
Our city has and will continue to closely partner with law enforcement to address the top public safety issues in our community. We are a safe community, and our public safety partners alert us of emergencies as they occur as well as issues such as online scams which increasingly affect every community. Our city manager continuously meets and communicates with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department to review activity in the city. Both our city manager and elected official representative meet monthly as part of the Lake Johanna Fire Department board to review activity, service levels and set policy. We have a public safety committee who also serve as an advisory group to the city council and staff and encourage the block captain program. One of our city’s strengths is our community engagement. We leverage our annual Night to Unite (which numbered 68 groups this year) to share public safety information and send teams of elected officials and city staff as well as our public safety providers out to each group to build community/neighborhood connections.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
Continue to partner with non-profits on projects that provide affordable housing options. We also have an upcoming housing development that will offer 20% of the units at 50% AMI. That was done with some grant funding and the city is using tax increment financing to also support this and other projects. Shoreview has adopted a policy that requires 10% affordable units on new developments or redevelopments of over 30 units. The city has increased options for low-cost loans to improve or weatherproof properties to maintain the naturally affordable options we currently have. We also have an opportunity for new homeowners to apply for down payment assistance. We will continue to look at policies and housing options that will expand our housing options and affordability as well as zoning and land use options.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
Shoreview has over 100 miles of trails in the city and a list of more trail opportunities as outlined by our Bikes and Trails Committee. The city continues to prioritize not only the creation but ongoing maintenance of the trails. Shoreview also works with the county on their projects to ensure safe pedestrian and bike options. We are currently working with our EDC to explore the possibility of asking to expand the reach of public transportation to our community as we have limited public transportation options.
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?
While we did benefit from COVID relief dollars, our city has been budgeting for those knowing they were short term and therefor Shoreview is not financially reliant on them. Shoreview effectively uses long term financial planning, so the city can meet its obligations as relief funding ends.
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?
I believe that issues like Uber/Lyft wages and proposed childcare subsidies should be handled at the state level. I do believe there are areas where cities need local controls and those include land use and zoning as well as controls over where items like cell phone hotspots and towers are located. The recent “missing middle” housing was a good example of how a well-intended effort to create more housing moved quickly without enough local government input and would have resulted in unintended consequences to potentially reduce the number of housing units some metro cities were working on had it passed as first written.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-260-1940
Campaign Website: suedenkinger.com
Twitter handle:
Facebook Page: Sue Denkinger for Shoreview Mayor
Candidate Bio
As a 34-year resident and homeowner in Shoreview, I appreciate the high level of local government, excellent schools, public safety, and quality level of services and amenities that residents experience and value. I was elected as Shoreview mayor in 2022 following serving as a city council member since 2016. Appointed to the Shoreview Economic Development Authority in 2013 where I continue to serve. My first local government experience was as a volunteer member of the Economic Development Commission for over 9 years. I also served as Past President and Executive Board member of the Ramsey County League of Local Governments and served as Shoreview representative and past president of the Lake Johanna Fire Department Board from 2021-2024. Prior to running for city council, I spent my career at Thomson Reuters in a variety of roles and leadership positions. There my most recent positions included Senior Director of Customer Service and Deployment Executive/Business Process owner both in the U.S. and internationally.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I bring a style of leadership that is collaborative and supportive of the values of the community. My business experience and roles involved bringing together various stakeholders toward a common goal, keeping to budget, and aligning ideas with effective execution. These skills have been invaluable to working in local government. It’s important to engage citizen input and effectively balance that with the strategic goals of the overall community, both in the present and looking toward the future.
What would be your top three priorities if elected? How might these priorities be affected by the state's projected economic outlook?
A) Continue Shoreview’s focus on economic development to keep our city taxes low. This includes working with new and existing businesses on quality job growth and strategic development projects. B) Continue our city’s strong efforts to grow housing, including affordable housing, via our inclusionary housing policy, and C) Focus on quality of life and these are very important to our community—maintaining our public safety, sustainability and Shoreview’s sense of community. Shoreview continues to leverage strategic budget and long-term financial planning to achieve its high level of service and amenities and keep city taxes low, even as state level resources may vary.
What do you consider the biggest challenge and conversely, the biggest opportunity in Shoreview?
Housing and the diversity needed in housing types is a challenge. In Shoreview we have had an increase in multi-family housing in the past several years with well over 1,000 new units. That is a positive move toward increased supply. We do have aging housing stock and residents who want to remain in Shoreview yet can struggle to find the type of housing they want when downsizing. With high interest rates and housing costs, it is a challenge for those looking to move to Shoreview and, in some cases, to remain in their homes.
The biggest opportunity in Shoreview lies in some areas where redevelopment would benefit the community. We are nearly a fully built out community so do not have a great deal of open land yet there will be opportunities as key properties become available.
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?
The ideal collaboration with the business community when it comes to tackling challenges is a partnership in when each brings their information and resources to the table so we can work together. In Shoreview this work is often focused through the economic development commission which supports business development and growth in a variety of ways. Our focus on collaboration with the business community is a local initiative that is part of our strategic goals. The outcomes from the most recent legislative session does not change our focus and partnership with the business community.
How would you characterize the business climate in Shoreview and what role do you think the city should have in attracting and retaining jobs and new businesses in Shoreview?
The business climate in Shoreview is collaborative and that’s based on a strong Economic Development Commission as well as our city community development staff. The EDC and staff created a Business Retention and Expansion program that proactively reaches out to local businesses to determine their health, strategic direction and offer support as needed. The EDC consists of both residents and local business owners who work together with staff to provide a responsive and interactive culture for businesses. The EDC recently launched a new business e-newsletter to connect with and highlight local businesses and provide city updates. I also believe it is important for cities to leverage tools like TIF to attract and retain businesses. Coordination between the local Chamber of Commerce, cities and the county are important to coordinate resources to connect and assist local businesses. Local businesses build strong communities—they provide jobs, a solid tax base and are important for communities to thrive.
What are your strategies to address public safety challenges in your community?
Our city has and will continue to closely partner with law enforcement to address the top public safety issues in our community. We are a safe community, and our public safety partners alert us of emergencies as they occur as well as issues such as online scams which increasingly affect every community. Our city manager continuously meets and communicates with the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Department to review activity in the city. Both our city manager and elected official representative meet monthly as part of the Lake Johanna Fire Department board to review activity, service levels and set policy. We have a public safety committee who also serve as an advisory group to the city council and staff and encourage the block captain program. One of our city’s strengths is our community engagement. We leverage our annual Night to Unite (which numbered 68 groups this year) to share public safety information and send teams of elected officials and city staff as well as our public safety providers out to each group to build community/neighborhood connections.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability?
Continue to partner with non-profits on projects that provide affordable housing options. We also have an upcoming housing development that will offer 20% of the units at 50% AMI. That was done with some grant funding and the city is using tax increment financing to also support this and other projects. Shoreview has adopted a policy that requires 10% affordable units on new developments or redevelopments of over 30 units. The city has increased options for low-cost loans to improve or weatherproof properties to maintain the naturally affordable options we currently have. We also have an opportunity for new homeowners to apply for down payment assistance. We will continue to look at policies and housing options that will expand our housing options and affordability as well as zoning and land use options.
How would you work to improve transportation options in your community, including improved safety for transit riders, pedestrian/bike, and drivers alike?
Shoreview has over 100 miles of trails in the city and a list of more trail opportunities as outlined by our Bikes and Trails Committee. The city continues to prioritize not only the creation but ongoing maintenance of the trails. Shoreview also works with the county on their projects to ensure safe pedestrian and bike options. We are currently working with our EDC to explore the possibility of asking to expand the reach of public transportation to our community as we have limited public transportation options.
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?
While we did benefit from COVID relief dollars, our city has been budgeting for those knowing they were short term and therefor Shoreview is not financially reliant on them. Shoreview effectively uses long term financial planning, so the city can meet its obligations as relief funding ends.
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?
I believe that issues like Uber/Lyft wages and proposed childcare subsidies should be handled at the state level. I do believe there are areas where cities need local controls and those include land use and zoning as well as controls over where items like cell phone hotspots and towers are located. The recent “missing middle” housing was a good example of how a well-intended effort to create more housing moved quickly without enough local government input and would have resulted in unintended consequences to potentially reduce the number of housing units some metro cities were working on had it passed as first written.