Kevin D. Hendricks's Blog, page 21

Unprecedented Voter Energy in West St. Paul

As we approach the 2018 elections, people in West St. Paul are engaged. It used to be that nobody knew anything about local elections and finding information was an exercise in futility—especially in our first-ring suburb of 20,000 people. But now my neighbors care. And that’s so inspiring.

Sexism Controversy

It started with a sexism controversy that flared up in April, resulting in packed city council chambers and nearly two hours of citizen comments. The TV news showed up and residents dona...

Medians on West St. Paul’s Robert Street Made Us Safer & Saved Money

The massive Robert Street construction project has been done for nearly two years, yet some people are still complaining. They don’t like medians. They don’t like U-turns.

But let’s look at the reality: Robert Street is now safer, and medians saved us money.

Accidents on Robert Street have gone down 23% since construction ended.

Medians actually saved West St. Paul $6.2 million.

Let’s dive into the details to explore why that is.

Remember the Old Robert Street

First, an aside:

I blog about W...

Erin Murphy for Minnesota Governor: Vote Aug. 14

I’m excited to support Erin Murphy for Minnesota governor this year. Really. There’s an energy around her campaign and I like where she stands.

Minnesota has a crowded primary this year, with multiple candidates in both parties vying for governor and other major positions. So it’s important to vote in the primary on Aug. 14, 2018. We’ll see if we can touch the most-recent high turnout of 20% from 1998 (or top 1994’s 27%?).

Excited by Erin Murphy

I don’t think I’ve ever been excited for a gove...

Wendy Berry’s Speech Launching Her Campaign for City Council

Wendy Berry is running for city council in West St. Paul’s Ward 3. I’ve already explained why I’m voting for Wendy Berry, but I wanted to share the inspiring moment when Wendy launched her campaign.

Below is the speech Wendy gave at the pivotal May 14, 2018 city council meeting. The room was packed with more than 150 people and the citizen comments went on for nearly two hours as residents condemned the sexist behavior of certain members of the council.

This is the speech that launched Wendy’...

Huge Turnout at West St. Paul Ward 3 Candidate Forum

I’m so excited and proud of my city right now. More than 70 people showed up at a candidate forum for ward 3 city council candidates. Some 600 people were watching the Facebook video feed live and the number of views has doubled since then.

Standing room only to hear from the candidates.

Too bad all the candidates aren’t as engaged as the community. 

All four candidates were invited to this non-partisan event, organized by Women of West St. Paul using rules from the League of Women Voters:

W...

Wendy Berry for West St. Paul Ward 3 City Council

I’m supporting Wendy Berry for West St. Paul ward 3 city council in the Aug. 14, 2018 primary and, I hope, in the Nov. 6 general election.

West St. Paul has four candidates running for the ward 3 city council seat, which means there will be a primary. Since city council is a non-partisan role, look for the city council race on the back side of your ballot. The top two in the primary will face off in the November general election.

Why Wendy Berry?

So why am I supporting Wendy Berry? A number o...

Robert Street Debt: Where Do West St. Paul Ward 3 Candidates Stand?

We’ve got a four-way primary for West St. Paul’s ward 3 city council seat. The top two will advance to the general election in November. So it’s important to know where these candidates stand.

I’ve been asking the candidates questions, including asking about Pride flags on Robert Street, the River-to-River Greenway project, and I collected their responses to the West St. Paul sexual harassment.

This week I’m asking about debts from the Robert Street project:

The Robert Street project is now f...

Pride Flags: Where Do West St. Paul Ward 3 City Council Candidates Stand?

Four candidates are competing in a primary for a Ward 3 seat on West St. Paul’s city council.

Last week I posed the following question to [most of] the candidates:

At the June 25, 2018 city council meeting, a citizen asked about the possibility of displaying LGBTQ Pride flags along Robert Street for Pride Month next year. The city council would need to approve such a move. Assuming the logistics can be worked out, would you be in favor of displaying Pride flags on Robert Street?

I sent the qu...

Kids Set up a Comic Book Stand and It’s Awesome

This afternoon I saw a post on Facebook that some neighborhood kids had set up a comic book stand and were selling comic books they had created.

I had to check that out.

And I’m glad I did. They were awesome.

Mason and Layla are both 8-years-old and they write and draw their own stories. They were selling the comics to make money for summer fun (when they closed down the stand they had enough to go to the pool!).

I bought two stories, “The Evil Pickle” by Layla and “The Evil Pizza” by Mason....

David Meisinger Should Never Hold Public Office Again

David Meisinger is running for city council in West St. Paul. However, his recent behavior should disqualify him from public office. No one should vote for Meisinger.

Below I’ll detail three public examples of David Meisinger’s bullying, intimidating, and mean-spirited behavior. This is not what we want in our elected officials, and so I’m suggesting that David Meisinger should never hold public office again. Not city council, not mayor, not commissioner nor committee member—and definitely no...