Campaign mailing address: Ma***@**************ns.com
Office Sought: Mayor
Are you an Incumbent or Challenger: Incumbent
City of Residence: Hopkins
How long have you lived in your community?
19 years
Are you a Homeowner or Renter?
Homeowner
Do you own other real property (e.g. Business, Cabin, Investment, or Rental Property)? If so, which?
Yes. I own commercial, long term rental and short term rental properties
Describe your civic and/or community engagement.
I am on the board of Hopkins Business and Civic Organization, I donate time and money to Resource West, ICA food shelf, Tucker All Stars for childhood cancer. I show up to any and all Community and non-profits events to boost their exposure
What are the most important housing challenges facing your community?
We are blessed with Hopkins being a growing community. Along with that growth comes challenges on the affordability of our housing stock which has been historically Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing. We also want to ensure that developments coming into Hopkins have ownership opportunities. We are adding developments with ownership opportunities. We have pass inclusionary housing policies as well as limited inclusionary zoning policies to open up use types for homeowners and investors for different levels of housing. Hopkins also has an old housing stock with old public infrastructure. We are far ahead of cities our age and size in updating our infrastructure. We also have grant funding to assist homeowners with outdated HVAC and insulation to keep our housing stock up to date
The Twin Cities Metro is facing a housing shortage unlike any we have experienced in recent history. What will you do to increase the number of homes available to residents of your community?
Hopkins is a place where developers are looking to develop due to the Light Rail. We see this as a great opportunity to add thousands of more housing units to the metro area housing stock. It will allow people with limited transportation options, or interest in simplifying, quality housing options. We are pro growth and development in Hopkins.
Minnesota has one of the largest homeownership gaps between Whites and Blacks, Indigenous, and People of Color. This is one of MAR’s primary concerns. What would you propose at the local level to close this home ownership gap?
Hopkins is a diverse community, 40% non-white. We have limited options for new ownership development but are adding it where-ever we can. Due to our diversity we are an attractive community for BIPOC community members to buy homes. We strive to create ownership opportunities where ever possible. I would be interested to hear from this organization for ideas around this topic. I have also started initial conversations with McKnight around their black owned ownership programs and am interested in partnering with them in anyway possible
How do you think your city can best balance the rights of tenants and property owners to effectively manage rental housing?
The first step is listening. I am attending a conference tonight with Noah on affordable housing. I have met with landlords and property owners as well. As a landlord myself, I understand the challenges that go along with property ownership. We try to be in a place as a city where we are helping owners and tenants talk to each other and providing resources to help solve the problem. We have grants that provide property owners significant funding to keep their HVAC up to date
What are your views on property tax rates in your community? Do you have concerns related to your city’s property tax rate? If so, how would you address those concerns once elected?
Our property taxes are too high. It’s one of the main issues I have run on since day one. We need to get them in line relative to our neighbors while still providing quality service that can compete in pay for our core staff members. We have been the lowest tax levy increases in Hennepin County over the last 4 years. When you take into account major developments our average burden on the average homeowner is even less that what the levy implies. It has taken us decades to get into this situation and it will take us years to get out. I wish it were as simple as wholesale cutting. Hopkins is only 4 sq miles with relatively low property values while running fairly lean city programming and staff. We need to gradually take bites of the apple while not losing our city service. Development and building density in our city is a key piece of solving our tax burden issues
Please provide links to all social media accounts connected to you or your campaign.
Instagram: @HanlonforHopkins
Facebook: @HanlonforHopkins
Please list any notable endorsements for your campaign.
Heather Edelson Hennepin County Commissioner, Nadia Mohamed Mayor St. Louis Park, Brad Weirsum Mayor City of Minnetonka, Former Mayor Molly Cummings City of Hopkins, Council Members Heidi Garrido, Brian Hunke and Aaron Kuznia City of Hopkins, Jen Westmoreland Hopkins Public Schools, Danny McDonald President of the Hopkins Business and Civic Association, Jake Spano Former Mayor of St. Louis Park
