Cory Huspek
Name: Cory Huspek
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-587-9509
Campaign Website: www.mockthevote.us
Twitter Handle:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BGPacSQcZ/
Candidate Bio
I'm an artist, a small business owner, and I've lived in Newport for nearly a decade.While I have not previously held elected office, I see that as an opportunity to bring a fresh perspective. 25 years of being an independent artist have taught me the importance of responsibility, collaboration, problem solving, and community.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I'm a born leader, I grab the bull by the horns and own it. As a city council member, I will focus on constituents first, with my leadership being community guided.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
My top priority is to keep spending to a minimum. With our uncertain funding, it's imperative we make decisions that are in the best interest of our city at large. Focus on providing core services, prioritize projects with the greatest impact, and avoid taking on long term obligations we can not sustain. We need to focus on what we can do to bring costs down before our citizens are taxed out of their homes. My next priority is to minimize government overreach. Focus on code enforcement that affects our residents' quality of life. I don't want to limit the amount of cars someone can have in their driveway, in our current economic state, houses may need multiple residents with cars living there just to make ends meet. Issuing fines to people for just trying to live is something we need to stop. And last but certainly not least would be our water, its extremely overpriced considering you can't even drink it. We need to hold 3M accountable and make our water safe.
What is the biggest challenge facing Newport right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
Our biggest issue is affordability. Our property taxes are some of the highest in the state. We need to focus on efficiency, transparency, and accountability. I see opportunity in growth. Incentivize new businesses to make Newport their home, provide assistance to existing businesses to help them grow, and engage with the community to support job growth.
How would you characterize the business climate in Newport, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
I think of our business climate as having a lot of potential, and just as many challenges. We should create conditions for businesses to succeed. Make it easier to open and expand a business, working with business owners to remove permitting and operational barriers. Investing in creating a community job board where we can connect our citizens with opportunities in our community.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
Crime will always be the most pressing public safety challenge. Public safety starts with making our residents feel safe in their city. Ensuring that we have the city resources that will show up when they call. I want to see stronger partnerships around mental health awareness, youth engagement, and neighborhood concerns. Encourage our residents to build tight bonds with their neighbors, and watch each others backs.
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?
Make housing approvals predictable and fast. Affordability starts with reducing the cost of producing a house. Be less restrictive to developers by easing restrictions on lot size, set backs, dwelling size, and density limits. While rent control may protect some tenants from sudden rent increases it does not solve the fundamental problem of our insufficient housing supply.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Adding more lighting to trails, and triggered illuminators to crosswalks. Identifying areas of concern and working with public works to address those concerns.
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?
Take a hard look at city spending and prioritize core services. Producing a city budget that is transparent and disciplined. We need to focus on growing our city and our tax base to focus on long-term sustainability, and affordability.
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 take care of our local infrastructure and basic services like snow removal, park, and neighborhood maintenance. Second is public safety. Providing the police, fire, and EMS service to keep our community safe and healthy.
What does real taxpayer transparency look like to you, and what specific steps would you take to achieve it — both in terms of financial reporting and public engagement?
All government spending should be an open book. More than just posting a budget online, it means making public finances understandable, accessible, and open to public input before a budget is finalized. Make it easy for our community to track expenditures, projects, and contracts.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-587-9509
Campaign Website: www.mockthevote.us
Twitter Handle:
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/share/1BGPacSQcZ/
Candidate Bio
I'm an artist, a small business owner, and I've lived in Newport for nearly a decade.While I have not previously held elected office, I see that as an opportunity to bring a fresh perspective. 25 years of being an independent artist have taught me the importance of responsibility, collaboration, problem solving, and community.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I'm a born leader, I grab the bull by the horns and own it. As a city council member, I will focus on constituents first, with my leadership being community guided.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
My top priority is to keep spending to a minimum. With our uncertain funding, it's imperative we make decisions that are in the best interest of our city at large. Focus on providing core services, prioritize projects with the greatest impact, and avoid taking on long term obligations we can not sustain. We need to focus on what we can do to bring costs down before our citizens are taxed out of their homes. My next priority is to minimize government overreach. Focus on code enforcement that affects our residents' quality of life. I don't want to limit the amount of cars someone can have in their driveway, in our current economic state, houses may need multiple residents with cars living there just to make ends meet. Issuing fines to people for just trying to live is something we need to stop. And last but certainly not least would be our water, its extremely overpriced considering you can't even drink it. We need to hold 3M accountable and make our water safe.
What is the biggest challenge facing Newport right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
Our biggest issue is affordability. Our property taxes are some of the highest in the state. We need to focus on efficiency, transparency, and accountability. I see opportunity in growth. Incentivize new businesses to make Newport their home, provide assistance to existing businesses to help them grow, and engage with the community to support job growth.
How would you characterize the business climate in Newport, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
I think of our business climate as having a lot of potential, and just as many challenges. We should create conditions for businesses to succeed. Make it easier to open and expand a business, working with business owners to remove permitting and operational barriers. Investing in creating a community job board where we can connect our citizens with opportunities in our community.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
Crime will always be the most pressing public safety challenge. Public safety starts with making our residents feel safe in their city. Ensuring that we have the city resources that will show up when they call. I want to see stronger partnerships around mental health awareness, youth engagement, and neighborhood concerns. Encourage our residents to build tight bonds with their neighbors, and watch each others backs.
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?
Make housing approvals predictable and fast. Affordability starts with reducing the cost of producing a house. Be less restrictive to developers by easing restrictions on lot size, set backs, dwelling size, and density limits. While rent control may protect some tenants from sudden rent increases it does not solve the fundamental problem of our insufficient housing supply.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Adding more lighting to trails, and triggered illuminators to crosswalks. Identifying areas of concern and working with public works to address those concerns.
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?
Take a hard look at city spending and prioritize core services. Producing a city budget that is transparent and disciplined. We need to focus on growing our city and our tax base to focus on long-term sustainability, and affordability.
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 take care of our local infrastructure and basic services like snow removal, park, and neighborhood maintenance. Second is public safety. Providing the police, fire, and EMS service to keep our community safe and healthy.
What does real taxpayer transparency look like to you, and what specific steps would you take to achieve it — both in terms of financial reporting and public engagement?
All government spending should be an open book. More than just posting a budget online, it means making public finances understandable, accessible, and open to public input before a budget is finalized. Make it easy for our community to track expenditures, projects, and contracts.