I helped towns attract businesses

All Duluth city councilor candidates say they want economic development. But I'm the only one -- other than Jim Stauber -- who actually knows the nuts and bolts that create economic development.

Here's why I can make that claim.



As a regional representative for southeast Minnesota, I was part of a team in charge of helping Minnesota communities sell their towns to prospective companies, which in turn would create jobs, and boost the local economy. So I – through the creation of the Star City Program – essentially helped communities construct their resumes, and practice their interviewing skills. That way companies could at a glance see what these Minnesota communities had to offer. I helped them gather data that mattered to companies, such as their city's water capacity, how much room was available in their industrial parks, stats on local schools, the land use plan, and what local financial help they might be able to provide employers who come to set up shop.


But I didn't just give them a checklist of things to collect. I helped them actually put the package together, and served as part of a team that pretended to be the potential company scouting out a new location to build. The city's team would practice pitching their towns to us. While I loved it, though I'm sure it may sound a bit dull to many residents. But that's why I'm running. I know what goes into attracting new businesses to town, which at its core, is what economic development is. It's all about what candidates have actually accomplished on the ground. Politicians should have to go beyond claiming they’re going to stand up for working people. I want to be able to create jobs and get out of the way, so working people can stand up for themselves. My campaign is about ensuring more and better jobs through attracting more businesses, and helping those here to expand, not simply trying to protect what we have today.