Trista MatasCastillo
Name: Trista MatasCastillo
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 612-845-7036
Website: www.votetrista.org
Twitter handle: @TristaMatas
Facebook Page: Trista MatasCastillo for Ramsey County Commissioner
Candidate Bio
Trista is the DFL Endorsed Candidate for Ramsey County, District 3.
Trista is a 16 year military veteran, who served in the Navy, Marine Corps and Minnesota National Guard. Trista served equal time as both enlisted and officer. Trista broke through numerous barriers in her career and was often the first or only woman in the commands in which she served.
After leaving the military she worked for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity as a Government and Community Relations specialist and successfully advocated for increased funding for affordable housing.
Trista founded the Women Veterans Initiative, a nonprofit organization that advocates for equity in services and develops innovative programs to address the needs of Women Veterans. She was recognized by the Department of Defense as Woman Veteran of the Year in 2011.
In 2012, Trista created and led the Veterans Voices Program with the Minnesota Humanities Center. This program allowed veterans to develop skills to communicate their stories to civilians in order to bridge the relationship divide between military and civilians.
Trista’s vast policy work, her community involvement, and her connections across multiple sectors led her to be recruited in 2017 for the position of principal aide to Ramsey County Commissioner District 1.
Trista is a published author, and speaker and was awarded a 2016 Bush Fellowship and inducted as a fellow into the British American Partnership.
She and her family live in the Payne-Phalen Neighborhood.
1. Why are you running for this seat?
I believe that the County Board has the most direct impact on our day-to-day lives and therefore must be led by bold, courageous leaders who have a shared vision that benefits all our residents. Over the past 20 years, District 3 has secured little to no investment from the County. I believe we have relinquished progress to a fear of the unknown. District 3 has tremendous opportunity to develop business and create good-paying jobs, to improve transit that accommodates all abilities, and to rethink neighborhood design for long-term sustainability. District 3 has a rich culture and great diversity; these are incredible assets our County needs to embrace and celebrate. Because many residents have been disinfranchised for so long, we need a leader who has breadth and depth in intersectionality and who has the ability to bring communities together with her compassion and energy. As the mother of a child with disabilities, I have had to access County services to care for him, and I know first-hand how difficult our system is to navigate. I am committed to improving the quality of life for all our residents, challenging racial or cultural bias, and help create a path forward for all to succeed.
2. What is the biggest challenge facing your district and how would you address it?
District 3 includes some of the most prosperous and some of the most economically depressed parts of the East Metro. While other parts of Saint Paul and Ramsey County are seeing an economic renaissance, neighborhoods like Frogtown, the North End, and Payne-Phalen are continuing to fall behind. The County must take a proactive and collaborative approach to better delivering resources and supports that will help increase community safety and family stability. At the same time, the County must play a stronger leadership role in attracting new businesses and jobs to the District by making smart investments in County roads and other infrastructure, facilitating redevelopment of key sites, and investing in business and entrepreneurial support programs.
3. What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing Ramsey County as a whole and how would you address it?
In many ways, the greatest challenge facing District 3 is the greatest challenge facing the rest of the county: increasing numbers of people in poverty and persistent, concentrated areas of poverty. What was once considered a “city problem” is now becoming a concern in parts of the suburbs and become a County wide problem requiring a County wide approach.
The solution is a multi-tiered approach which includes rethinking how we design and build, creating economic opportunities and growth centers across the county and strengthening the workforce investments and job opportunities and training. I am committed to better service delivery and more leadership in economic growth across the County.
4. What would be your top three priorities if (re-)elected to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners?
Housing, Economic Development, and Transit for All abilities.
5. Should county government be actively involved in attracting and retaining jobs? Why or why not? If yes, please describe the role for the county in this process.
Yes. The county is well-positioned to play a valuable and active role in attracting and retaining jobs. The work of growing our local economies requires a multifaceted approach that should include the resources, staff, and expertise County programs can offer in areas such as workforce development and environmental remediation. Also, the County is poised to collaborate with smaller suburban communities on larger projects like the Rice Creek Commons which will have an economic impact at the regional and state level. Additionally, as the lead tax authority for the 19 cities within the County borders, the County government is positioned to carefully and judiciously use this authority through tools like tax increment financing and tax deferral to facilitate business growth and retention.
6. What role should county government play in economic development, and how should the county work with partner organizations?
The County has a key role in economic development. In addition to facilitating large redevelopment opportunities like the former Twin Cities Ammunition site and the West Publishing Building, the County collaborates with business and nonprofit leaders through the Workforce Innovation Board (WIB) to ensure we are connecting people with the training and careers they need to earn a decent living.
District 3 has suffered severe hardships over the past 20 years with the loss of jobs and businesses. We have a workforce that is ready and waiting. As Commissioner, I will work with the City of St. Paul to bring reinvestment to our District and to proactively recruit companies to build their businesses in our community. I will support efforts to continually improve our workforce development programs, gain greater input from our business community, and bring these resources within closer reach of our residents. I will support efforts to foster greater collaboration between WIBs and business leaders across the metro through the Greater Metropolitan Workforce Council, because residents in my District may choose job opportunities outside the County, and thriving businesses attract workers from outside their immediate vicinity. I will also champion efforts to better support the entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners within our District and across our County; we need to support new and expanding businesses. Our diversity and human capital are our strength. As an advocate for our community, I will work with the rest of the board and our staff to recruit businesses, allocate resources to support small business, and encourage job growth and development throughout the district.
The County can be most effective when it focuses on projects that have the scope and scale to be high impact, either through the number of jobs created or retained or by facilitating large scale private investment as in the case of the Rice Creek Commons.
7. What do you believe are the most essential services provided by county government?
Administering social services, including healthcare for our seniors and other vulnerable populations, is the most critical service we provide as a County.
8. Are there any services that the county does not provide that you believe it should?
As previously stated, the County is in a position to do more to encourage County-wide economic development. The County should expand the scope of its housing and redevelopment authority with a community development authority that works more comprehensively with cities to encourage new business attraction and development as well as more workforce and low income housing development across the county. This would bring more opportunity to folks in the district I am seeking to represent as well as other challenged areas across the county.
9. Are there any services currently provided by the county that you believe should be cut back or eliminated?
There are always opportunities to access and improve services being provided and make sure they are relevant and meeting the current needs of the community. One example is the significant amount of subsidy provided to our municipal golf courses which are currently operating at a significant budget deficit and fewer users than ever before. There is opportunity to rethink how we are using the green space and consider converting the green space to a revenue and food producing urban farms. This idea would grow jobs, maintain green space, improve environment while producing fresh produce to benefit many in need in our community.
10. How would you characterize the business climate in Ramsey County? What, if anything, would you do to change it?
While many local government decisions that impact businesses are made at the municipal level, Ramsey County can certainly play a role in creating a stronger business climate. First and foremost, the County can work to ensure that we are carefully weighing the costs and benefits of increasing the County levy. While I support increasing the levy when necessary, I will work as Commissioner to make sure that the County is using its resources effectively in ways that will support business growth and workforce readiness. The County can work closer with the business community to ensure adequate training for jobs in high growth sectors such as healthcare and medical device manufacturing. This will help existing businesses grow and will help attract even more businesses to the County, including my district. Additionally, the county can make sure that we are are building cutting-edge County infrastructure that supports multimodal transportation and helps better connect our County to the regional economy.
11. Many communities and government entities in the East Metro collaborate to provide services to their residents in an effort operate more efficiently and cost effectively. Do you believe that Ramsey County uses such partnerships appropriately, and can you identify any specific areas where more sharing of services should be used?
We need to be creative in how we maintain our tax revenue and discover new ways to do more with what we have. We need to pursue more active partnerships between cities. In Saint Paul many of the main thoroughfares are County roads which traverse several cities. In order to get the maximum return out of the significant investment it requires to build and maintain those roads, it may make sense to simplify and improve the zoning code to allow for more private investment or to collaborate with other City or County agencies.. This could add more housing and jobs while strengthening the tax base for the city, school district, and county.
It also makes sense to make a more concrete effort to collaborate on maintenance and construction schedules when roads or buildings in an area cross multiple jurisdictions and create a dig-once approach whenever possible
Additionally, we have the opportunity to be more thoughtful and strategic in how we generate revenue and expand our tax base in our County to share cost burdens for development. Many leaders talk about public-private partnerships on County projects, but little is being done to secure such cooperation. I am the only candidate that has a successful track record in working with corporations, foundations, and nonprofits to secure such partnerships. I will bring the skill set to the county board in order to develop and grow our tax base. District 3 has the most unused potential and opportunity for growth within St. Paul and has a ready and willing labor force to draw in large investors and job creators.
12. In your view, what is Ramsey County’s top transportation priority and how would you advance it?
As we look to the future, the counties that will be most competitive in attracting businesses and talented workers will be those that are connected to the region’s growing transit network. Right now, a visitor or prospective worker who wants to use public transit to get to the airport has the choice of taking a train from (?) Minneapolis or a bus from (?) Saint Paul. Businesses looking to start-up or expand or event planners for conventions face the same choice. For Ramsey County, it is imperative we have a direct, reliable, and user-friendly connection between downtown Saint Paul and the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. I fully support the modern streetcar connecting Union Depot to the airport as the locally preferred alternative for the Riverview Corridor.
That said, it is critical that we don’t simply “close the triangle” between the two downtowns and the airport. We must do more to connect businesses, workers, and residents in Saint Paul, including the neighborhoods of District 3, to schools, jobs, recreational and economic opportunities beyond the Twin Cities.
13. Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
The county has a broad reach and in turn has significant responsibility to care for all our residents and ensure that we are planning and building a economy for the future with a sustainable model. There is opportunity to improve service delivery, and customer satisfaction in the process and each detail is important and requires a holistic approach. I am running to ensure that we have equity in our resources across the County and we invest in all communities.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 612-845-7036
Website: www.votetrista.org
Twitter handle: @TristaMatas
Facebook Page: Trista MatasCastillo for Ramsey County Commissioner
Candidate Bio
Trista is the DFL Endorsed Candidate for Ramsey County, District 3.
Trista is a 16 year military veteran, who served in the Navy, Marine Corps and Minnesota National Guard. Trista served equal time as both enlisted and officer. Trista broke through numerous barriers in her career and was often the first or only woman in the commands in which she served.
After leaving the military she worked for Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity as a Government and Community Relations specialist and successfully advocated for increased funding for affordable housing.
Trista founded the Women Veterans Initiative, a nonprofit organization that advocates for equity in services and develops innovative programs to address the needs of Women Veterans. She was recognized by the Department of Defense as Woman Veteran of the Year in 2011.
In 2012, Trista created and led the Veterans Voices Program with the Minnesota Humanities Center. This program allowed veterans to develop skills to communicate their stories to civilians in order to bridge the relationship divide between military and civilians.
Trista’s vast policy work, her community involvement, and her connections across multiple sectors led her to be recruited in 2017 for the position of principal aide to Ramsey County Commissioner District 1.
Trista is a published author, and speaker and was awarded a 2016 Bush Fellowship and inducted as a fellow into the British American Partnership.
She and her family live in the Payne-Phalen Neighborhood.
1. Why are you running for this seat?
I believe that the County Board has the most direct impact on our day-to-day lives and therefore must be led by bold, courageous leaders who have a shared vision that benefits all our residents. Over the past 20 years, District 3 has secured little to no investment from the County. I believe we have relinquished progress to a fear of the unknown. District 3 has tremendous opportunity to develop business and create good-paying jobs, to improve transit that accommodates all abilities, and to rethink neighborhood design for long-term sustainability. District 3 has a rich culture and great diversity; these are incredible assets our County needs to embrace and celebrate. Because many residents have been disinfranchised for so long, we need a leader who has breadth and depth in intersectionality and who has the ability to bring communities together with her compassion and energy. As the mother of a child with disabilities, I have had to access County services to care for him, and I know first-hand how difficult our system is to navigate. I am committed to improving the quality of life for all our residents, challenging racial or cultural bias, and help create a path forward for all to succeed.
2. What is the biggest challenge facing your district and how would you address it?
District 3 includes some of the most prosperous and some of the most economically depressed parts of the East Metro. While other parts of Saint Paul and Ramsey County are seeing an economic renaissance, neighborhoods like Frogtown, the North End, and Payne-Phalen are continuing to fall behind. The County must take a proactive and collaborative approach to better delivering resources and supports that will help increase community safety and family stability. At the same time, the County must play a stronger leadership role in attracting new businesses and jobs to the District by making smart investments in County roads and other infrastructure, facilitating redevelopment of key sites, and investing in business and entrepreneurial support programs.
3. What do you believe is the biggest challenge facing Ramsey County as a whole and how would you address it?
In many ways, the greatest challenge facing District 3 is the greatest challenge facing the rest of the county: increasing numbers of people in poverty and persistent, concentrated areas of poverty. What was once considered a “city problem” is now becoming a concern in parts of the suburbs and become a County wide problem requiring a County wide approach.
The solution is a multi-tiered approach which includes rethinking how we design and build, creating economic opportunities and growth centers across the county and strengthening the workforce investments and job opportunities and training. I am committed to better service delivery and more leadership in economic growth across the County.
4. What would be your top three priorities if (re-)elected to the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners?
Housing, Economic Development, and Transit for All abilities.
5. Should county government be actively involved in attracting and retaining jobs? Why or why not? If yes, please describe the role for the county in this process.
Yes. The county is well-positioned to play a valuable and active role in attracting and retaining jobs. The work of growing our local economies requires a multifaceted approach that should include the resources, staff, and expertise County programs can offer in areas such as workforce development and environmental remediation. Also, the County is poised to collaborate with smaller suburban communities on larger projects like the Rice Creek Commons which will have an economic impact at the regional and state level. Additionally, as the lead tax authority for the 19 cities within the County borders, the County government is positioned to carefully and judiciously use this authority through tools like tax increment financing and tax deferral to facilitate business growth and retention.
6. What role should county government play in economic development, and how should the county work with partner organizations?
The County has a key role in economic development. In addition to facilitating large redevelopment opportunities like the former Twin Cities Ammunition site and the West Publishing Building, the County collaborates with business and nonprofit leaders through the Workforce Innovation Board (WIB) to ensure we are connecting people with the training and careers they need to earn a decent living.
District 3 has suffered severe hardships over the past 20 years with the loss of jobs and businesses. We have a workforce that is ready and waiting. As Commissioner, I will work with the City of St. Paul to bring reinvestment to our District and to proactively recruit companies to build their businesses in our community. I will support efforts to continually improve our workforce development programs, gain greater input from our business community, and bring these resources within closer reach of our residents. I will support efforts to foster greater collaboration between WIBs and business leaders across the metro through the Greater Metropolitan Workforce Council, because residents in my District may choose job opportunities outside the County, and thriving businesses attract workers from outside their immediate vicinity. I will also champion efforts to better support the entrepreneurs and aspiring business owners within our District and across our County; we need to support new and expanding businesses. Our diversity and human capital are our strength. As an advocate for our community, I will work with the rest of the board and our staff to recruit businesses, allocate resources to support small business, and encourage job growth and development throughout the district.
The County can be most effective when it focuses on projects that have the scope and scale to be high impact, either through the number of jobs created or retained or by facilitating large scale private investment as in the case of the Rice Creek Commons.
7. What do you believe are the most essential services provided by county government?
Administering social services, including healthcare for our seniors and other vulnerable populations, is the most critical service we provide as a County.
8. Are there any services that the county does not provide that you believe it should?
As previously stated, the County is in a position to do more to encourage County-wide economic development. The County should expand the scope of its housing and redevelopment authority with a community development authority that works more comprehensively with cities to encourage new business attraction and development as well as more workforce and low income housing development across the county. This would bring more opportunity to folks in the district I am seeking to represent as well as other challenged areas across the county.
9. Are there any services currently provided by the county that you believe should be cut back or eliminated?
There are always opportunities to access and improve services being provided and make sure they are relevant and meeting the current needs of the community. One example is the significant amount of subsidy provided to our municipal golf courses which are currently operating at a significant budget deficit and fewer users than ever before. There is opportunity to rethink how we are using the green space and consider converting the green space to a revenue and food producing urban farms. This idea would grow jobs, maintain green space, improve environment while producing fresh produce to benefit many in need in our community.
10. How would you characterize the business climate in Ramsey County? What, if anything, would you do to change it?
While many local government decisions that impact businesses are made at the municipal level, Ramsey County can certainly play a role in creating a stronger business climate. First and foremost, the County can work to ensure that we are carefully weighing the costs and benefits of increasing the County levy. While I support increasing the levy when necessary, I will work as Commissioner to make sure that the County is using its resources effectively in ways that will support business growth and workforce readiness. The County can work closer with the business community to ensure adequate training for jobs in high growth sectors such as healthcare and medical device manufacturing. This will help existing businesses grow and will help attract even more businesses to the County, including my district. Additionally, the county can make sure that we are are building cutting-edge County infrastructure that supports multimodal transportation and helps better connect our County to the regional economy.
11. Many communities and government entities in the East Metro collaborate to provide services to their residents in an effort operate more efficiently and cost effectively. Do you believe that Ramsey County uses such partnerships appropriately, and can you identify any specific areas where more sharing of services should be used?
We need to be creative in how we maintain our tax revenue and discover new ways to do more with what we have. We need to pursue more active partnerships between cities. In Saint Paul many of the main thoroughfares are County roads which traverse several cities. In order to get the maximum return out of the significant investment it requires to build and maintain those roads, it may make sense to simplify and improve the zoning code to allow for more private investment or to collaborate with other City or County agencies.. This could add more housing and jobs while strengthening the tax base for the city, school district, and county.
It also makes sense to make a more concrete effort to collaborate on maintenance and construction schedules when roads or buildings in an area cross multiple jurisdictions and create a dig-once approach whenever possible
Additionally, we have the opportunity to be more thoughtful and strategic in how we generate revenue and expand our tax base in our County to share cost burdens for development. Many leaders talk about public-private partnerships on County projects, but little is being done to secure such cooperation. I am the only candidate that has a successful track record in working with corporations, foundations, and nonprofits to secure such partnerships. I will bring the skill set to the county board in order to develop and grow our tax base. District 3 has the most unused potential and opportunity for growth within St. Paul and has a ready and willing labor force to draw in large investors and job creators.
12. In your view, what is Ramsey County’s top transportation priority and how would you advance it?
As we look to the future, the counties that will be most competitive in attracting businesses and talented workers will be those that are connected to the region’s growing transit network. Right now, a visitor or prospective worker who wants to use public transit to get to the airport has the choice of taking a train from (?) Minneapolis or a bus from (?) Saint Paul. Businesses looking to start-up or expand or event planners for conventions face the same choice. For Ramsey County, it is imperative we have a direct, reliable, and user-friendly connection between downtown Saint Paul and the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. I fully support the modern streetcar connecting Union Depot to the airport as the locally preferred alternative for the Riverview Corridor.
That said, it is critical that we don’t simply “close the triangle” between the two downtowns and the airport. We must do more to connect businesses, workers, and residents in Saint Paul, including the neighborhoods of District 3, to schools, jobs, recreational and economic opportunities beyond the Twin Cities.
13. Is there anything else you would like to share with voters not covered above?
The county has a broad reach and in turn has significant responsibility to care for all our residents and ensure that we are planning and building a economy for the future with a sustainable model. There is opportunity to improve service delivery, and customer satisfaction in the process and each detail is important and requires a holistic approach. I am running to ensure that we have equity in our resources across the County and we invest in all communities.