Graeme Allen
Name: Graeme Allen
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612-481-2144
Campaign Website: www.AllenForNB.com
Twitter Handle: N/A
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/AllenforNB
Candidate Bio
I have served on the City Council for the past 8.5+ years. Not everyone might agree, but I think my record and issues I have focused on have made a positive impact in a variety of ways and on a variety of topics.
We have maintained and improved city services and infrastructure. The residents have regularly given city services high marks for the quality, both anecdotal and through our resident survey.
We have invested in our internationally awarded Public Safety Department as well as crime prevention, helping mark 2025 as the lowest recorded ‘Part 1 crimes – Ex. murder, aggravated assault, robbery) since the city started tracking the numbers in the 1980s.
We have significantly increased community engagement opportunities/events & communication. By regularly asking residents and business owners to give feedback and take part in surveys, we are making decisions with more input and direction from residents.
We continue to modernize housing policies and have worked with developers to create new housing, allowing for more potential housing options. We have increased standards and modified the licensing of multifamily housing as well as single family and short-term housing rentals. This work has led to fewer complaints from tenants.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I ran for city council because the city was in the news for all the wrong reasons. A disagreeable Council Member caused lots of friction between council members, low morale among staff and the inability to get a lot done other than the basics. Since then, the Council has been much more productive, even when we disagree. This has created a better environment and allowed us to move forward and modernize policies, procedures and operations within the city.
I try to be active in the community, to hear people’s thoughts and experiences to better understand challenges, wishes and the vision of our residents. I try to work collaboratively with elected colleagues, city staff and residents to find solutions and identify challenges.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
I am running for reelection to work on some outstanding projects/issues.
What is the biggest challenge facing New Brighton right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
The biggest challenge is that many of our residents are feeling the affordability crises. Filling in the gaps with limited city funding is a challenge and it’s impossible to meet all residents' needs. That said, over the past 4 years we have looked at the gaps in services for those in need and have strategically increased our contributions to local non-profits such as Community Partners with Youth (CPY) an out of school child care and youth enrichment organization, the Ralph Reeder food shelf and Northeast Youth and Family Services (youth and family mental health care). With newish LAHA (Local Affordable Housing Aid tax funding) we are creating a small income-based home repair program and exploring other ways to make an impact, albeit small, to help with housing related costs for lower income residents.
I suspect about every 5 years roughly 20% of the population changes - meaning that there are always new residents that haven’t been involved and don’t know where to get information. We need to continue to make being involved and finding information in the city easier, but also help promote the Federal, State, County, Energy efficiency and nonprofit programs for those that need resources and services.
How would you characterize the business climate in New Brighton, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
In the past 4 years, New Brighton has made it a priority to reach out to businesses to open connections and ask about their experiences via surveys. Like most metro communities, Operation Metro surge had a financial impact on our retail and hospitality businesses.
We went through a years-long process to update our zoning codes to make the rules easier, and sometimes less confusing. The last major update to the zoning code was done in the 70s and has just been updated as federal and state laws have changed, but it created some inconsistencies and difficulty navigating the zoning code.
Although we are an almost fully developed city, we have had periodic opportunities to work with developers to bring in new housing and expansion of businesses. Through open communication and the willingness to work with businesses, we are building and maintaining a healthy business climate and an attractive place to do business.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
2025 saw the lowest reported ‘Part 1’ crimes (murder, aggravated assault, burglary, etc) since the city started tracking the numbers in the 1980s. Like all communities, we had a surge of property crimes during the covid pandemic and increases in domestic assault and related issues. Collaboration with state lawmakers has led to some significant reductions in some crimes, such as vehicle Catalytic Converter theft (95% reduction).
If you ask most folks what the current challenges are, most would say vehicle speeding / electronic bikes. Over the past 4 years we have enacted several ordinances and projects that have created easier travel (sidewalks, multi-use paths and road narrowing). We lowered the vehicle speed limit on city streets to 25mph. These efforts have and will (as we repair most city roads on a 25-30 year cycle), create separation between cars and people walking/biking, etc.
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?
I have been a champion of reforming our housing policy. We have strengthened our inspections process for multifamily housing, created a licensing/inspections program for single family and short-term rentals.
We have created about 400 ‘below market cost’ housing units in the city since 2021. We are in the process of creating a low-income home rehabilitation loan program and are exploring more small funded options to help address housing affordability.
We are currently working on an ‘inclusionary housing policy’, that will allow for greater housing density in our single family neighborhoods. This policy, if city financing is involved, will require either giving the city money to use on housing affordability projects or require a % of the new units be below market rate cost to residents.
We are also working on a strategy to best maintain our NOAH (Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing). I pushed and we have adopted a policy that if the ownership of a multifamily building is sold, the residents must be notified 3 months in advance if rents will be increased, or residents' moving costs are covered by the new owners.
We have not had discussions about rent control and I feel other strategies may be more effective.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Over the past 4 years we have enacted several ordinances and projects that have created easier mult-model travel (sidewalks, multi use paths and road narrowing) and lowered the speed limit on city streets to 25mph. These efforts have and will (as we repair most city roads on a 25-30 year cycle), create separation between cars and people walking/biking, etc.
We have expanded our trails through the parks and are working to bring better connectivity to surrounding parks and communities.
Transit (bus service) continues to be a challenge as the State and Metro Transit face budget crunches. Without increased funding and potentially, a regional mult-city advocacy plan, I don’t see major improvements in the near future.
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?
This is always a balancing act. We know that residents and business owners are differently able to afford property taxes. At the extremes, you can either have a lower levy, but it can limit your ability to keep up with infrastructure maintenance and from making big improvements. At the other extreme, you will make it harder for some folks to afford to live in the city. Before I started on the council (roughly 2005-2014), the elected leaders kept property tax increases to as little as possible. This led to future budget challenges to keep up with modernizing services and being able to make needed improvements and ensure long-term financial stability, without sacrificing the quality of services and preparing for the future. While on the council, I think we have tried to strike a balance between extremes. We continue to have a smaller levy than most comparable cities of similar population in the Metro. In addition, we continually try to connect folks struggling to afford taxes with federal, state, county and non-profit services to try and mitigate the impact of property taxes for those that can least afford them.
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?
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?
Each year I have been on the council we have started the budgeting process earlier and earlier in the year. This has helped us have more time to talk about issues, explore alternatives and get more feedback from residents. Like most cities, our budgets and long-term financial documents are publicly available. When I started on the council, we had about 5 community events. Last year we had over 60+, this increase means more face-to-face opportunities for folks to ask questions, learn about current happenings and give the city more feedback opportunities on a variety of topics. Over the past few years, the council and staff have talked about how to make information more accessible for folks. We need to better explore ways to make it easier for those interested to learn about the city’s financing. I am hopeful that we can produce content (possibly short videos) that can better inform and direct folks to more information that is easier to understand.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 612-481-2144
Campaign Website: www.AllenForNB.com
Twitter Handle: N/A
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/AllenforNB
Candidate Bio
I have served on the City Council for the past 8.5+ years. Not everyone might agree, but I think my record and issues I have focused on have made a positive impact in a variety of ways and on a variety of topics.
We have maintained and improved city services and infrastructure. The residents have regularly given city services high marks for the quality, both anecdotal and through our resident survey.
We have invested in our internationally awarded Public Safety Department as well as crime prevention, helping mark 2025 as the lowest recorded ‘Part 1 crimes – Ex. murder, aggravated assault, robbery) since the city started tracking the numbers in the 1980s.
We have significantly increased community engagement opportunities/events & communication. By regularly asking residents and business owners to give feedback and take part in surveys, we are making decisions with more input and direction from residents.
We continue to modernize housing policies and have worked with developers to create new housing, allowing for more potential housing options. We have increased standards and modified the licensing of multifamily housing as well as single family and short-term housing rentals. This work has led to fewer complaints from tenants.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
I ran for city council because the city was in the news for all the wrong reasons. A disagreeable Council Member caused lots of friction between council members, low morale among staff and the inability to get a lot done other than the basics. Since then, the Council has been much more productive, even when we disagree. This has created a better environment and allowed us to move forward and modernize policies, procedures and operations within the city.
I try to be active in the community, to hear people’s thoughts and experiences to better understand challenges, wishes and the vision of our residents. I try to work collaboratively with elected colleagues, city staff and residents to find solutions and identify challenges.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
I am running for reelection to work on some outstanding projects/issues.
- Long-term planning (as a mostly developed community, we have been engaging the community for years to get feedback, so if there is redevelopment, especially in some of our retail zones, what comes next will be shaped in part by the feedback).
- I will continue to make sure that the city continues to operate efficiently and provide high quality services and provide a good value for residents. Good quality services and finding non-property tax funds for city projects and operations doesn’t just happen. Our city staff are fantastic professionals that make sure the work gets done. We need to continue to value their work and remain competitive in our compensation of staff.
- If you ask most folks why they live or stay in New Brighton, the most common response is that the city is a great place to live with few big problems. The community is relatively peaceful and folks especially appreciate that it is a welcoming place where neighbors often know each other and New Brighton is a place that they feel they belong, not just a place they live. Building and fostering that sense of community is a big factor in resident satisfaction and important to continue.
What is the biggest challenge facing New Brighton right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
The biggest challenge is that many of our residents are feeling the affordability crises. Filling in the gaps with limited city funding is a challenge and it’s impossible to meet all residents' needs. That said, over the past 4 years we have looked at the gaps in services for those in need and have strategically increased our contributions to local non-profits such as Community Partners with Youth (CPY) an out of school child care and youth enrichment organization, the Ralph Reeder food shelf and Northeast Youth and Family Services (youth and family mental health care). With newish LAHA (Local Affordable Housing Aid tax funding) we are creating a small income-based home repair program and exploring other ways to make an impact, albeit small, to help with housing related costs for lower income residents.
I suspect about every 5 years roughly 20% of the population changes - meaning that there are always new residents that haven’t been involved and don’t know where to get information. We need to continue to make being involved and finding information in the city easier, but also help promote the Federal, State, County, Energy efficiency and nonprofit programs for those that need resources and services.
How would you characterize the business climate in New Brighton, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
In the past 4 years, New Brighton has made it a priority to reach out to businesses to open connections and ask about their experiences via surveys. Like most metro communities, Operation Metro surge had a financial impact on our retail and hospitality businesses.
We went through a years-long process to update our zoning codes to make the rules easier, and sometimes less confusing. The last major update to the zoning code was done in the 70s and has just been updated as federal and state laws have changed, but it created some inconsistencies and difficulty navigating the zoning code.
Although we are an almost fully developed city, we have had periodic opportunities to work with developers to bring in new housing and expansion of businesses. Through open communication and the willingness to work with businesses, we are building and maintaining a healthy business climate and an attractive place to do business.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
2025 saw the lowest reported ‘Part 1’ crimes (murder, aggravated assault, burglary, etc) since the city started tracking the numbers in the 1980s. Like all communities, we had a surge of property crimes during the covid pandemic and increases in domestic assault and related issues. Collaboration with state lawmakers has led to some significant reductions in some crimes, such as vehicle Catalytic Converter theft (95% reduction).
If you ask most folks what the current challenges are, most would say vehicle speeding / electronic bikes. Over the past 4 years we have enacted several ordinances and projects that have created easier travel (sidewalks, multi-use paths and road narrowing). We lowered the vehicle speed limit on city streets to 25mph. These efforts have and will (as we repair most city roads on a 25-30 year cycle), create separation between cars and people walking/biking, etc.
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?
I have been a champion of reforming our housing policy. We have strengthened our inspections process for multifamily housing, created a licensing/inspections program for single family and short-term rentals.
We have created about 400 ‘below market cost’ housing units in the city since 2021. We are in the process of creating a low-income home rehabilitation loan program and are exploring more small funded options to help address housing affordability.
We are currently working on an ‘inclusionary housing policy’, that will allow for greater housing density in our single family neighborhoods. This policy, if city financing is involved, will require either giving the city money to use on housing affordability projects or require a % of the new units be below market rate cost to residents.
We are also working on a strategy to best maintain our NOAH (Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing). I pushed and we have adopted a policy that if the ownership of a multifamily building is sold, the residents must be notified 3 months in advance if rents will be increased, or residents' moving costs are covered by the new owners.
We have not had discussions about rent control and I feel other strategies may be more effective.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Over the past 4 years we have enacted several ordinances and projects that have created easier mult-model travel (sidewalks, multi use paths and road narrowing) and lowered the speed limit on city streets to 25mph. These efforts have and will (as we repair most city roads on a 25-30 year cycle), create separation between cars and people walking/biking, etc.
We have expanded our trails through the parks and are working to bring better connectivity to surrounding parks and communities.
Transit (bus service) continues to be a challenge as the State and Metro Transit face budget crunches. Without increased funding and potentially, a regional mult-city advocacy plan, I don’t see major improvements in the near future.
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?
This is always a balancing act. We know that residents and business owners are differently able to afford property taxes. At the extremes, you can either have a lower levy, but it can limit your ability to keep up with infrastructure maintenance and from making big improvements. At the other extreme, you will make it harder for some folks to afford to live in the city. Before I started on the council (roughly 2005-2014), the elected leaders kept property tax increases to as little as possible. This led to future budget challenges to keep up with modernizing services and being able to make needed improvements and ensure long-term financial stability, without sacrificing the quality of services and preparing for the future. While on the council, I think we have tried to strike a balance between extremes. We continue to have a smaller levy than most comparable cities of similar population in the Metro. In addition, we continually try to connect folks struggling to afford taxes with federal, state, county and non-profit services to try and mitigate the impact of property taxes for those that can least afford them.
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?
- Local zoning decisions. There has been an effort over the past few years at the state legislature to limit the ability of cities to place requirements on housing developments (such a size of project, number of parking spaces, where development happens, etc). I think it generally comes from good intentions to try to make it easier to develop new housing, especially ‘affordable housing’. There are communities that are reluctant to bring in ‘affordable’ housing options helping exacerbate the supply issue. The versions of the bills have improved over the years, but at least for New Brighton, where we have taken the time to look at most of the issues associated with housing development, local traffic issues, environmental impact and community input are better suited as a local conversation (at least for New Brighton).
- Building a sense of community and belonging. Most folks appreciate that New Brighton is a welcoming place where neighbors often know each other and a place that they feel they belong, not just a place they live. Building and fostering that sense of community is a big factor in resident satisfaction and important to continue.
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?
Each year I have been on the council we have started the budgeting process earlier and earlier in the year. This has helped us have more time to talk about issues, explore alternatives and get more feedback from residents. Like most cities, our budgets and long-term financial documents are publicly available. When I started on the council, we had about 5 community events. Last year we had over 60+, this increase means more face-to-face opportunities for folks to ask questions, learn about current happenings and give the city more feedback opportunities on a variety of topics. Over the past few years, the council and staff have talked about how to make information more accessible for folks. We need to better explore ways to make it easier for those interested to learn about the city’s financing. I am hopeful that we can produce content (possibly short videos) that can better inform and direct folks to more information that is easier to understand.