Philosophy

I believe that the citizens of Fairmont deserve to know the raw, unvarnished facts, free of bias or favoritism. If you ask me a question, you will get a straight answer, and I don't care who may not like hearing what I have to say. I will not be bullied into silence.

 

I believe that the City Council's first and foremost job is to be good stewards of the taxpayers' money. Yes, we need to spend money to do the city's work, but we need to do so frugally - remembering that spending more may actually be the frugal choice in the long run - and on necessities, not frills.

 

I believe that Council's role is not to run the city. That's what we hire the City Administrator to do. Council's role is to set policies and goals for the city and give the staff the resources they need to accomplish those goals according to those policies.

 

I believe Council must not micromanage the operations of the city. We hire experts to do those jobs. Council does not know how best to plow snow from the streets or to clear a fault from a power line or fix a broken water main in subzero temperatures. Council also does not know the details of why what works for New Ulm or Waseca or Worthington might not work here. It must not pretend otherwise.

 

I believe that the hidden agendas that drove the Council's actions in the past, and some actions of other bodies that affect the city, need to be exposed for all to see and evaluate.

 

I believe that Fairmont needs to be in the business of saying yes to development and business, so long as the proposal is fully fleshed out and not wildly out of character for the area. Conversely, I believe that developers need to have their ducks in a row before they come asking for things.