Carly Johnson
Name: Carly Johnson
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: (651) 261-5801
Campaign Website: https://www.carlyforcouncil.com/
Twitter Handle: N/A
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CarlyJohnsonforOPH
Candidate Bio
I grew up in Oak Park Heights and it has been my privilege to serve on the Oak Park Heights City Council since January 2019. On the Council, I have advocated for trail improvements; zoning policies designed to improve redevelopment and environmental sustainability; an embedded social worker program that allows our City to better address the mental health needs of those in our community; and advocated for updating our City Code. Additionally, a key part of the City’s work in the last few years has been preparing for the closure of the King Plant.
To advance our City’s interests, I serve as a member of the League of MN Cities’ Improving Service Delivery policy committee, which I chaired for two years. I previously served on the MN Board of Water & Soil Resources as the Metro Area Elected Official, and on the National League of Cities’ Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee, including a PFAS task force.
Outside of my work on the City Council, I am a lawyer at Maslon LLP and I have a dog named Kai. I am committed to giving back to my hometown and doing whatever I can to ensure our City succeeds.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
My job as a City Councilmember is to be a public servant for our residents and to support City staff as they address our residents’ needs on a daily basis. I approach the role with curiosity, creativity, and a desire for collaboration to advance our City in a way that ensures every resident is heard.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
What is the biggest challenge facing Oak Park Heights right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
The biggest challenging facing Oak Park Heights right now is the closure of the Xcel Energy Allen S. King Plant, which is scheduled for 2028. It is also our greatest opportunity for redevelopment.
How would you characterize the business climate in Oak Park Heights, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
The business climate in Oak Park Heights has been improving in recent years with some vacant buildings being filled. I am impressed by our City staff’s work with business owners, particularly small business owners, that have expressed an interest in Oak Park Heights. Our staff helps business owners navigate building codes and watershed requirements, and find available locations.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
The most pressing public safety challenge in Oak Park Heights is ensuring proper resources to address the needs of individuals in crisis and facing other mental health challenges. I am proud to have advocated for our City’s embedded social worker program to help with this concern.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability, and how do you view the role of rent control policies in that process?
Oak Park Heights is fully built out, thus addressing the housing shortage will likely require regional collaboration. The redevelopment of underutilized parcels into multi-family buildings and the building of affordable starter homes, which will likely require federal and state incentives, will be key to solving the affordability crisis.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Our City now has both a road and trail improvement plan that ensures continual investment in the maintenance of our City’s infrastructure. I have advocated for trail improvements and trail connections that improve connectivity throughout our City. As it relates to transit, I led the City’s advocacy for Metro Transit to make ADA-compliance upgrades to bus stops in our City to the extent they intend to continue using them.
Residential property owners across the region are feeling significant strain from rising property tax bills. How would you approach balancing fiscal responsibility with the demand for services when setting the city levy?
Our City has continually looked for ways to be fiscally responsible and plan carefully for the future. This approach involves seeking state funding for large infrastructure projects and exploring things like a local option sales tax to fund PFAS remediation projects. It also includes long-term planning and budgeting for large improvement projects, so we are not relying on debt or seeing large, avoidable spikes in tax levies.
What are the two or three issues where you believe city government is best positioned to lead — and why the city rather than the state or county?
Taxpayer transparency looks like public engagement through understandable presentations at City Council meetings, public meetings discussing the budget, and providing information in our City newsletter. The budget is the hardest part of City government to understand—fortunately, when you are elected, you can have countless meetings with the City Administrator and Finance Director. Our goal should be to explain the budget so well that new Councilmembers, and the public, understand what their taxes are being used for, why the budget may be increasing, and what was done or considered to off-set any increases.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: (651) 261-5801
Campaign Website: https://www.carlyforcouncil.com/
Twitter Handle: N/A
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CarlyJohnsonforOPH
Candidate Bio
I grew up in Oak Park Heights and it has been my privilege to serve on the Oak Park Heights City Council since January 2019. On the Council, I have advocated for trail improvements; zoning policies designed to improve redevelopment and environmental sustainability; an embedded social worker program that allows our City to better address the mental health needs of those in our community; and advocated for updating our City Code. Additionally, a key part of the City’s work in the last few years has been preparing for the closure of the King Plant.
To advance our City’s interests, I serve as a member of the League of MN Cities’ Improving Service Delivery policy committee, which I chaired for two years. I previously served on the MN Board of Water & Soil Resources as the Metro Area Elected Official, and on the National League of Cities’ Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Committee, including a PFAS task force.
Outside of my work on the City Council, I am a lawyer at Maslon LLP and I have a dog named Kai. I am committed to giving back to my hometown and doing whatever I can to ensure our City succeeds.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
My job as a City Councilmember is to be a public servant for our residents and to support City staff as they address our residents’ needs on a daily basis. I approach the role with curiosity, creativity, and a desire for collaboration to advance our City in a way that ensures every resident is heard.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
- Preparing for the closing of the Xcel Energy Allen S. King plant. This includes not only planning for the financial impacts, as the King Plant is a significant portion of our City budget (27%), but also looking for redevelopment opportunities at the site.
- Monitoring and addressing PFAS. While the City’s current drinking water supply consistently remains within federal standards, it’s possible that Well 3 (which is not yet operational) may be slightly above EPA guidelines for PFOA and that PFAS levels could change as the plume moves. Our City must ensure our drinking water is safe and seek state funding to address PFAS given that we are a small city that may be facing a drastic cut to our City budget due to the closing of the King Plant.
- Updating our City’s Zoning Code. At present, the City is updating the City Code with plans to update the Zoning Code in the upcoming year. This update is very important for redevelopment and ensuring neighboring uses are consistent.
What is the biggest challenge facing Oak Park Heights right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
The biggest challenging facing Oak Park Heights right now is the closure of the Xcel Energy Allen S. King Plant, which is scheduled for 2028. It is also our greatest opportunity for redevelopment.
How would you characterize the business climate in Oak Park Heights, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
The business climate in Oak Park Heights has been improving in recent years with some vacant buildings being filled. I am impressed by our City staff’s work with business owners, particularly small business owners, that have expressed an interest in Oak Park Heights. Our staff helps business owners navigate building codes and watershed requirements, and find available locations.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
The most pressing public safety challenge in Oak Park Heights is ensuring proper resources to address the needs of individuals in crisis and facing other mental health challenges. I am proud to have advocated for our City’s embedded social worker program to help with this concern.
What ideas do you have to address housing shortages and affordability, and how do you view the role of rent control policies in that process?
Oak Park Heights is fully built out, thus addressing the housing shortage will likely require regional collaboration. The redevelopment of underutilized parcels into multi-family buildings and the building of affordable starter homes, which will likely require federal and state incentives, will be key to solving the affordability crisis.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Our City now has both a road and trail improvement plan that ensures continual investment in the maintenance of our City’s infrastructure. I have advocated for trail improvements and trail connections that improve connectivity throughout our City. As it relates to transit, I led the City’s advocacy for Metro Transit to make ADA-compliance upgrades to bus stops in our City to the extent they intend to continue using them.
Residential property owners across the region are feeling significant strain from rising property tax bills. How would you approach balancing fiscal responsibility with the demand for services when setting the city levy?
Our City has continually looked for ways to be fiscally responsible and plan carefully for the future. This approach involves seeking state funding for large infrastructure projects and exploring things like a local option sales tax to fund PFAS remediation projects. It also includes long-term planning and budgeting for large improvement projects, so we are not relying on debt or seeing large, avoidable spikes in tax levies.
What are the two or three issues where you believe city government is best positioned to lead — and why the city rather than the state or county?
- The City is best positioned to lead on questions of zoning. Discussions about subverting local authority and removing cities’ ability to decide if something is well-suited for an area risks incompatible uses that are not in the best interest of residents and not consistent with our City’s values.
- The City is best positioned to discuss our City’s roads and traffic concerns. For example, at one point, the County decided to subvert Oak Park Heights’ authority by making a road connection that our City believed was not in the best interests of our businesses and residents. As a result, our City must address concerns and spend taxpayer money to address an issue that should not have been created. Going forward, there needs to be greater regional collaboration that listens to the concerns of the City.
Taxpayer transparency looks like public engagement through understandable presentations at City Council meetings, public meetings discussing the budget, and providing information in our City newsletter. The budget is the hardest part of City government to understand—fortunately, when you are elected, you can have countless meetings with the City Administrator and Finance Director. Our goal should be to explain the budget so well that new Councilmembers, and the public, understand what their taxes are being used for, why the budget may be increasing, and what was done or considered to off-set any increases.