Mike Hang
Name: Mike Hang
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-908-8125
Campaign Website: mikeforcitycouncil.org
Twitter Handle: N/A
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61592823462799
Candidate Bio
I am Mike Hang, a Maplewood resident and a father of five. I work for Ramsey County as an Eligibility Specialist in Financial Assistance Services, helping families access food and financial support. My wife Susan and I live on the south side of Maplewood.
I started in banking and construction, lost a business in the 2008 financial crisis, and rebuilt from scratch. That taught me more about budgets and risk than any classroom. I moved into human services in 2018 and have been there since.
I chair the Minnesota Hmong Chamber of Commerce, where I have testified at the Legislature for small business owners, sit on the board of the Hmong 18 Council, and serve as a steward and Executive Board Secretary for AFSCME Local 151. I co-founded the first Hmong Citizens Academy with the Saint Paul Police Department, served on the Hennepin County Sheriff's Community Advisory Board, was vice chair of two charter schools, and led a PTO.
I know how to read a budget, run a meeting, and get people who disagree to the same table. That is what I will bring to City Hall.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
Listen first, decide, then explain the decision in plain language. That is how I work as a union steward and a chamber chair, and it is how I will work on the council.
I do the homework, I call the people affected, and I will tell you why I voted the way I did even when you disagree. If I get something wrong, I want to hear it from you directly.
I also show up. If a neighborhood has a problem, I will be on that street, not waiting for it to reach a hearing. No resident should need a lawyer or a lobbyist to be heard at City Hall.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
First, reopen public comment at council meetings so residents can speak on any topic, not only agenda items. It costs nothing and it rebuilds trust.
Second, grow the base, not the burden. Every levy conversation starts and ends with how much more to ask of homeowners. I will make growing the commercial tax base a stated council goal with a target, so the cost of running the city is shared more widely.
Third, a permanent solution for the Saint Paul Police gun range on Linwood Avenue. It has been there since the 1950s, the lease runs to 2073, and more than 200 new homes are going in nearby. Neighbors deserve a real plan, not another study.
Funding uncertainty makes the second priority more urgent. If state and federal aid shrink, the city either raises the levy or grows the base. I choose growing the base. It also means no ongoing programs built on one-time money.
What is the biggest challenge facing Maplewood right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
The biggest challenge is that residents feel squeezed and shut out at the same time. Property taxes keep climbing, and the council has made it harder for people to speak about it. When people feel priced out and unheard, they stop showing up.
The greatest opportunity is our land, two ways. Commercially, we sit at the crossroads of 3M, the Mall area, White Bear Avenue, and Highways 36 and 61, with underused commercial property and new housing coming on the south side. Make it easier to open, expand, and reinvest here, and the tax base grows.
Second, our green space. Maplewood residents voted in the 1990s to tax themselves to buy woods and savanna, and today we have fifteen neighborhood preserves, the Nature Center on 40 acres of oak woods and marsh, and Battle Creek and Keller regional parks inside our city limits. That is rare. Until 2020, the Nature Center's naturalists taught nearly 3,000 school kids a year outdoors, at low cost, plus trail guide, scout, and family programs. The city closed it, cut four staff, and never fully brought it back. I want that program restored, with hands-on building and stewardship projects for kids and families.
How would you characterize the business climate in Maplewood, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
Maplewood has real anchors, from 3M to the retail along White Bear Avenue and the Mall. What we lack is a working relationship between the city and the small and mid-sized businesses that fill in the rest of the map. The Maplewood Business Council has gone quiet, and many owners do not have a regular line of communication with City Hall.
I chair the Minnesota Hmong Chamber of Commerce, so I spend a lot of time with owners trying to grow in the east metro. The city's job is to be predictable and reachable. Specifically: published timelines for permits and inspections, one point of contact for businesses, and a revived business council that meets on a schedule. The new business subsidy policy is a good tool, but only if owners know it exists and can get a straight answer about it. On workforce, partner with the chambers, Ramsey County workforce services, and local colleges so employers can hire trained workers close to home. The city should not run the economy. It should get out of the way where it can and open doors where it should.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
Three things come up most on doorsteps: traffic safety, property crime near the retail corridors, and the gun range on Linwood. Underneath all three is a question I want answered with data: do police and fire respond as fast in every neighborhood?
Public safety works best when officers and residents know each other before something goes wrong. I will fund police and fire staffing, retention, and training, fill vacancies before adding programs, and bring a community academy to Maplewood. I will also push to pair officers with mental health professionals on calls where that is the right response.
Maplewood is a growing, changing city with neighbors from many backgrounds, and public safety has to keep up. That means culturally appropriate outreach so families who are new here, or whose first language is not English, know how to reach police and fire and trust they will be treated fairly. It also means officers trained in de-escalation, because most calls are not a crime, they are a person having the worst day of their life.
On the gun range, I want a permanent solution negotiated with Saint Paul. On traffic, use our crash data to fix the worst intersections first.
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?
We need more homes of more types, and the city's biggest lever is zoning and approvals. I support accessory dwelling units, townhomes, and small multifamily on corridors where they fit, and I will push staff to give builders clear, fast answers so projects do not die in process. I will also work with Ramsey County and the HRA to preserve the naturally affordable housing we already have. The cheapest affordable unit is the one already built.
In my work with families in crisis, I have seen what happens when there is nowhere to go. I would not vote for rent control in Maplewood. I have looked hard at it, and in practice it slows new construction and maintenance, which makes the shortage worse for the next family. What I will fight for instead: more supply, strong rental licensing and inspections, fair notice requirements for tenants, and emergency assistance that keeps people housed through a rough stretch.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Most of our busiest roads belong to the county or the state, so the city's first job is to be a persistent partner. I will use our own crash and complaint data to build a short list of the worst intersections and crossings and bring it to Ramsey County and MnDOT every year until it shrinks.
Within city control, every street reconstruction gets sidewalks, crossings, and lighting reviewed at the same time, because adding them later costs far more. Sidewalk gaps near schools, parks, and bus stops get filled first. With the Gold Line running through the east metro, we should make walking and biking to transit safe instead of assuming everyone will drive to it.
I also want plain-language snow and road maintenance updates. People forgive a lot when they know what is happening and when.
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?
Start with the truth about where the money goes. Before any levy vote, residents should see in plain language what a typical home will pay, what it paid last year, and what is driving the change. If the council cannot explain the increase to residents, it should not vote for it.
Separate ongoing costs from one-time costs. One-time money goes to one-time needs, and every ongoing commitment needs a source that lasts. Big-ticket projects like a public safety training center or Community Center upgrades come to residents with the full price tag and funding source, whether that is a local sales tax, partners, or bonding, before the council commits.
Grow the base, not the burden. That is the heart of my campaign. A city cannot cut its way to lower taxes without cutting the services people moved here for, and it cannot keep raising the levy on the same households without pushing out seniors and young families. The way out is making Maplewood a place where businesses want to build, expand, and stay, so commercial property carries more of the load. Growing the base will be my first question at every budget, not the last.
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?
Land use and development. The city decides what gets built, where, and how fast. No one at the state or county can grow our tax base or fix our permit process for us. This is the biggest lever a council has.
Public engagement. Reopening public comment, holding meetings in the neighborhoods, and making the budget readable are things the council can decide to do tomorrow. No permission, funding, or study required.
Neighborhood public safety and quality of life. The county runs the jail and the courts and the state sets the laws, but the day-to-day feel of a neighborhood comes from local police, code enforcement, streets, and parks. That is city work, and residents know exactly who to hold accountable for it.
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?
Transparency means a resident with no finance background can find out what the city spends, on what, and why, without filing a request. I will push for a plain-language budget summary each year, in the languages our residents speak, a searchable online record of city spending, and a levy impact statement showing the dollar change for a typical home before any vote.
On engagement, first, reopen open public comment at every council meeting. Second, meet people where they are. Right now, finding out what happened at a council meeting or work session means hunting through the city website for minutes or a recording, and most people give up. I will put every council meeting and work session on YouTube, live and archived, with timestamps so you can jump to the item you care about. Everyone knows how to use YouTube. Almost no one knows how to find city minutes.
Third: regular neighborhood meetings in each part of the city, council votes on major items published where people can actually find them, and a plain explanation on the website whenever the council makes a decision that affects taxes, fees, or land use. Transparency is a habit, not a report.
Email: [email protected]
Campaign Phone: 651-908-8125
Campaign Website: mikeforcitycouncil.org
Twitter Handle: N/A
Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61592823462799
Candidate Bio
I am Mike Hang, a Maplewood resident and a father of five. I work for Ramsey County as an Eligibility Specialist in Financial Assistance Services, helping families access food and financial support. My wife Susan and I live on the south side of Maplewood.
I started in banking and construction, lost a business in the 2008 financial crisis, and rebuilt from scratch. That taught me more about budgets and risk than any classroom. I moved into human services in 2018 and have been there since.
I chair the Minnesota Hmong Chamber of Commerce, where I have testified at the Legislature for small business owners, sit on the board of the Hmong 18 Council, and serve as a steward and Executive Board Secretary for AFSCME Local 151. I co-founded the first Hmong Citizens Academy with the Saint Paul Police Department, served on the Hennepin County Sheriff's Community Advisory Board, was vice chair of two charter schools, and led a PTO.
I know how to read a budget, run a meeting, and get people who disagree to the same table. That is what I will bring to City Hall.
What style of leadership would you bring to this position?
Listen first, decide, then explain the decision in plain language. That is how I work as a union steward and a chamber chair, and it is how I will work on the council.
I do the homework, I call the people affected, and I will tell you why I voted the way I did even when you disagree. If I get something wrong, I want to hear it from you directly.
I also show up. If a neighborhood has a problem, I will be on that street, not waiting for it to reach a hearing. No resident should need a lawyer or a lobbyist to be heard at City Hall.
What are your top three priorities if elected, and how might they be affected by growing uncertainty around state and federal funding?
First, reopen public comment at council meetings so residents can speak on any topic, not only agenda items. It costs nothing and it rebuilds trust.
Second, grow the base, not the burden. Every levy conversation starts and ends with how much more to ask of homeowners. I will make growing the commercial tax base a stated council goal with a target, so the cost of running the city is shared more widely.
Third, a permanent solution for the Saint Paul Police gun range on Linwood Avenue. It has been there since the 1950s, the lease runs to 2073, and more than 200 new homes are going in nearby. Neighbors deserve a real plan, not another study.
Funding uncertainty makes the second priority more urgent. If state and federal aid shrink, the city either raises the levy or grows the base. I choose growing the base. It also means no ongoing programs built on one-time money.
What is the biggest challenge facing Maplewood right now, and where do you see the greatest opportunity?
The biggest challenge is that residents feel squeezed and shut out at the same time. Property taxes keep climbing, and the council has made it harder for people to speak about it. When people feel priced out and unheard, they stop showing up.
The greatest opportunity is our land, two ways. Commercially, we sit at the crossroads of 3M, the Mall area, White Bear Avenue, and Highways 36 and 61, with underused commercial property and new housing coming on the south side. Make it easier to open, expand, and reinvest here, and the tax base grows.
Second, our green space. Maplewood residents voted in the 1990s to tax themselves to buy woods and savanna, and today we have fifteen neighborhood preserves, the Nature Center on 40 acres of oak woods and marsh, and Battle Creek and Keller regional parks inside our city limits. That is rare. Until 2020, the Nature Center's naturalists taught nearly 3,000 school kids a year outdoors, at low cost, plus trail guide, scout, and family programs. The city closed it, cut four staff, and never fully brought it back. I want that program restored, with hands-on building and stewardship projects for kids and families.
How would you characterize the business climate in Maplewood, and what role should city government play in partnering with the business community to attract jobs, develop the workforce, and address shared challenges?
Maplewood has real anchors, from 3M to the retail along White Bear Avenue and the Mall. What we lack is a working relationship between the city and the small and mid-sized businesses that fill in the rest of the map. The Maplewood Business Council has gone quiet, and many owners do not have a regular line of communication with City Hall.
I chair the Minnesota Hmong Chamber of Commerce, so I spend a lot of time with owners trying to grow in the east metro. The city's job is to be predictable and reachable. Specifically: published timelines for permits and inspections, one point of contact for businesses, and a revived business council that meets on a schedule. The new business subsidy policy is a good tool, but only if owners know it exists and can get a straight answer about it. On workforce, partner with the chambers, Ramsey County workforce services, and local colleges so employers can hire trained workers close to home. The city should not run the economy. It should get out of the way where it can and open doors where it should.
What do you view as the most pressing public safety challenges in your community, and how would you address them?
Three things come up most on doorsteps: traffic safety, property crime near the retail corridors, and the gun range on Linwood. Underneath all three is a question I want answered with data: do police and fire respond as fast in every neighborhood?
Public safety works best when officers and residents know each other before something goes wrong. I will fund police and fire staffing, retention, and training, fill vacancies before adding programs, and bring a community academy to Maplewood. I will also push to pair officers with mental health professionals on calls where that is the right response.
Maplewood is a growing, changing city with neighbors from many backgrounds, and public safety has to keep up. That means culturally appropriate outreach so families who are new here, or whose first language is not English, know how to reach police and fire and trust they will be treated fairly. It also means officers trained in de-escalation, because most calls are not a crime, they are a person having the worst day of their life.
On the gun range, I want a permanent solution negotiated with Saint Paul. On traffic, use our crash data to fix the worst intersections first.
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?
We need more homes of more types, and the city's biggest lever is zoning and approvals. I support accessory dwelling units, townhomes, and small multifamily on corridors where they fit, and I will push staff to give builders clear, fast answers so projects do not die in process. I will also work with Ramsey County and the HRA to preserve the naturally affordable housing we already have. The cheapest affordable unit is the one already built.
In my work with families in crisis, I have seen what happens when there is nowhere to go. I would not vote for rent control in Maplewood. I have looked hard at it, and in practice it slows new construction and maintenance, which makes the shortage worse for the next family. What I will fight for instead: more supply, strong rental licensing and inspections, fair notice requirements for tenants, and emergency assistance that keeps people housed through a rough stretch.
How would you improve transportation infrastructure and safety for drivers, transit riders, cyclists, and pedestrians in your community?
Most of our busiest roads belong to the county or the state, so the city's first job is to be a persistent partner. I will use our own crash and complaint data to build a short list of the worst intersections and crossings and bring it to Ramsey County and MnDOT every year until it shrinks.
Within city control, every street reconstruction gets sidewalks, crossings, and lighting reviewed at the same time, because adding them later costs far more. Sidewalk gaps near schools, parks, and bus stops get filled first. With the Gold Line running through the east metro, we should make walking and biking to transit safe instead of assuming everyone will drive to it.
I also want plain-language snow and road maintenance updates. People forgive a lot when they know what is happening and when.
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?
Start with the truth about where the money goes. Before any levy vote, residents should see in plain language what a typical home will pay, what it paid last year, and what is driving the change. If the council cannot explain the increase to residents, it should not vote for it.
Separate ongoing costs from one-time costs. One-time money goes to one-time needs, and every ongoing commitment needs a source that lasts. Big-ticket projects like a public safety training center or Community Center upgrades come to residents with the full price tag and funding source, whether that is a local sales tax, partners, or bonding, before the council commits.
Grow the base, not the burden. That is the heart of my campaign. A city cannot cut its way to lower taxes without cutting the services people moved here for, and it cannot keep raising the levy on the same households without pushing out seniors and young families. The way out is making Maplewood a place where businesses want to build, expand, and stay, so commercial property carries more of the load. Growing the base will be my first question at every budget, not the last.
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?
Land use and development. The city decides what gets built, where, and how fast. No one at the state or county can grow our tax base or fix our permit process for us. This is the biggest lever a council has.
Public engagement. Reopening public comment, holding meetings in the neighborhoods, and making the budget readable are things the council can decide to do tomorrow. No permission, funding, or study required.
Neighborhood public safety and quality of life. The county runs the jail and the courts and the state sets the laws, but the day-to-day feel of a neighborhood comes from local police, code enforcement, streets, and parks. That is city work, and residents know exactly who to hold accountable for it.
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?
Transparency means a resident with no finance background can find out what the city spends, on what, and why, without filing a request. I will push for a plain-language budget summary each year, in the languages our residents speak, a searchable online record of city spending, and a levy impact statement showing the dollar change for a typical home before any vote.
On engagement, first, reopen open public comment at every council meeting. Second, meet people where they are. Right now, finding out what happened at a council meeting or work session means hunting through the city website for minutes or a recording, and most people give up. I will put every council meeting and work session on YouTube, live and archived, with timestamps so you can jump to the item you care about. Everyone knows how to use YouTube. Almost no one knows how to find city minutes.
Third: regular neighborhood meetings in each part of the city, council votes on major items published where people can actually find them, and a plain explanation on the website whenever the council makes a decision that affects taxes, fees, or land use. Transparency is a habit, not a report.