New Brighton area conservatives are dedicated to making our city a better place to live, work and play by following a strategy that embraces personal freedom, individual initiative and fiscally responsible financial management. Led by Mayor David Jacobson, council members Gina Bauman and David Phillips the city has held the line on expenditures the last three years. This year, it is crucial that Mayor Jacobson and council member Phillips are re-elected in order to continue a conservative financial agenda.
The following are some key differences between the candidates: Mayor Jacobsen is a retired executive from Onan Corporation. He has no ties to any business, outside government organizations, or any other public or private entities. His focus is the City of New Brighton. In contrast, Mr. Benke is an employee of Ewald Consulting, a lobbying firm which consults, advises and lobbies for a variety of public and private organizations. In addition, Mr. Benke is a member of the Ramsey County Charter Commission. Mr. Benke's full-time and part-time jobs are huge potential conflicts of interest for an elected official. Electing Mr. Benke mayor is akin to hiring the fox to guard the henhouse.
Mayor Jacobsen and Councilman Philips believe that New Brighton should not put taxpayers at risk in the real estate development business. Mr. Benke proudly takes credit for setting New Brighton on the course to borrow money to fund the debacle now known as the New Brighton Exchange. This has resulted in an outstanding debt of more than $50M, or more than $3,100 for each of the approximately 16,000 adult residents of New Brighton. Mayor Jacobsen and council member Phillips have taken decisive action to mitigate taxpayer exposure initiated by Benke and past councils by hiring a new marketing and development team. This has resulted in a new $18M development which is now underway.
Phillips is an experienced architect, real estate developer and small businessman. Additionally, he has four years hands-on experience as your councilman. Contrast his background with those of the other council candidates (Source: http://onyourballot2.vote411.org): A hunting magazine publisher, a former Parks and Recreation employee at another city and current Mental Health Employment Specialist Case Manager, a retired Minnesota Air National Guard Lt. Colonel and current website implementation project manager. It's also interesting to note that there are other candidates who did not bother to submit profiles to the League of Women Voters site linked above.
New Brighton's population is 21,541. The city is spending approximately $4.99M per year on Public Safety, which includes the Police Department. Rather than creating their own police infrastructure, neighboring cities Shoreview and Arden Hills contract with the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department. New Brighton cost per person is $232. Average cost per person in Shoreview and Arden Hills is $131 (Source: MN State Auditor). In other words, NB could save 44% of the budget ($2.2M) by following the same course as Shoreview and Arden Hills. When asked about this idea as a means to save money during the League of Women Voters Candidate's Forum in October, Mr. Benke stated that he is in favor of keeping the structure of the New Brighton Police Department as is. Mayor Jacobsen stated that he was open to making this change if it was what the voters desired.
Working together, Mayor Jacobsen and Council Member Phillips have reduced the annual operating budget by more than $639,000, held the tax levy flat in 2010 and 2011, and reduced the tax levy for 2012.
Please vote for Dave Jacobsen for Mayor and vote ONLY for David Phillips for City Council. The City Council race is a contest for two seats. It is important to vote only for David Phillips to avoid effectively canceling out your own vote by voting for a second choice for council.
Bruce Knight
New Brighton
