On September 13th, VOTE for Betsy Hodges— a leader who will protect our neighborhoods.

The people who built Minneapolis should be
able to afford to stay here.
Betsy Hodges is a leader who understands that.

Minneapolis is a great city. To keep it great, we must preserve what we value and work to make it better:
 
We value fairness. We should be able to afford to live in the city we built. Betsy Hodges knows that the state’s decision to shift property taxes from businesses to homeowners is particularly unfair to retirees who have invested in their homes.

We value fiscal responsibility. Every dollar of our hard-earned property taxes must be used responsibly.

We value safe neighborhoods. We want to walk through our streets and know that we are safe.

Minneapolis is a great city. Betsy Hodges will work to make sure we and our kids want to live here in twenty years. To get there we must preserve what we value and work to make it better:

We value fiscal responsibility.

Every dollar of our hard-earned property taxes must be used responsibly.

We need a budget process governed by policy and principle, not special favors or who can scrape together seven votes for a pet project. We must build on the good work of retiring Councilmember Barret Lane - the City must continue to develop budgets based on long-term business planning.

Betsy Hodges will:
• Insist that the City continue to pay off its inherited debts.
• Work with a broad coalition to restore state funding for public safety and education.
• Prioritize public safety and other basic city services like snowplowing and street maintenance.

We value safe neighborhoods.

Every Minneapolis neighborhood needs to be a place we can walk freely at night. Every crime needs to be reported and investigated.

Betsy Hodges will:
• Fight for funding for more Minneapolis police officers, including assertive debt repayment to free up city dollars and working with a broad coalition to restore state funding for public safety.  Unlike her opponent, Betsy will not make spending promises with no responsible way to deliver them.
• Ensure a strong, viable community with good job alternatives for young people and strong neighborhood relationships to stop crime at its roots.

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We value clean water and air.

Our lakes must be lakes we actually want to swim in.  Our creek must be free of pollution We must preserve the trees in our boulevards and parks.

Betsy Hodges will:
• Make sure the new stormwater fee and credit system is fairly implemented and used to protect our lakes, creeks, and rivers from the damage of stormwater run-off.
• Champion sound environmental choices as our city conducts its business, including efficient streetlights, smart energy use, upgrading the City’s vehicle fleet, sourcing locally, recycling, and limiting the environmental impact of city capital projects.

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We value transportation choices.

We want to get where we’re going without sitting in traffic for an hour. This means we need to promote rail and bus transit, as well as roads.

Betsy Hodges will:
• Work in coalition to actively promote Light Rail Transit in the Central Corridor, Bus Rapid Transit on 35W, the NorthStar rail line all the way to St. Cloud, and bus service that connects to these lines.
• Advocate for expanding and extending our bike paths throughout the city.

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We value the character of our neighborhoods.

Our kids should be able to afford to live where they’re growing up, and our neighborhoods should be places where we can live, play, and work.

Betsy Hodges will:
• Champion sound neighborhood development that works with small business owners and neighbors.
• Facilitate a community conversation to address zoning ordinances about residential development, including new housing and teardowns.

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Our city’s future depends on strong public schools.
Betsy Hodges is a leader who understands that.

“As a mother of three boys in the Minneapolis Public Schools, I know that the best way to have strong schools is to have healthy neighborhoods and a vibrant city. I am voting for Betsy because she’s smart, she’s tough, and she’ll work to make the city a great place.” — Lynnell Mickelsen, Southwest parent  

The City doesn’t govern the schools, but to stay vibrant our City depends on strong schools. The City and our schools must be partners to make sure our kids get what they need to thrive.

Betsy Hodges will:
• Work with the School Board and our state legislators to advocate for Minneapolis schools throughout the City and the state.
• Work with the Park Board, Library Board, county and state to support Early Childhood and Youth programs so kids come to school ready to learn.
• Support affordable housing initiatives so our kids and our classrooms have more stability.

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