1) Please tell us a little bit about yourself: Greetings and thank you for this opportunity to present my observations. I was born in Ely in 1945 and raised in a traditional Finnish family spending half the year in town, the other half at the cabin on Burntside Lake. My peers and myself were so fortunate, incredible environment, great schools, great community, [diverse but united], and encouragement to dream.
2) Family: I have been married for the past 28 years. My bride, Michelle is an English teacher at Denfeld High School and is an avid perennial gardener. My youngest son, Matthew, is a student at USC studying film, youngest daughter Jessie, a UWS graduate in teaching and interviewing today at Denfeld, oldest daughter, Katy, married, a theatre grad from UMD currently in Chicago teaching theatre arts at Passages International School, [her husband Andy, also a Denfeld alum and UMD grad, manages the Piven Theatre In Evanston], Oldest son Trevor is an EE grad from the main U and lives in Minneapolis.
3) Educational background: I attended UMD and the main U. I did not graduate.
4) Employment background: After college, I worked in the investment field for five years. The next few years were spent traveling, ending up working in a State Park in Florida as canoe guide into the swamps of the Loxahatchee River. The next thirty+ years were with the City of Duluth Parks and Recreation Department as a Recreation Specialist. My charge was to design and implement leisure time activities for youth, families, seniors, and neighborhoods. I programmed Centers from Duluth Heights west to Fondulac during my thirty years. I played a role in starting City wide programs such as the Duluth Sailing Association , Duluth Table Tennis, Duluth Speed Skating, Youth Soccer, Adventure Recreation [including canoeing, kayaking, rock climbing,] Irving’s Children’s Theatre. These programs succeeded due to the collaboration of many agencies and individuals.
5) Volunteer background: A good third of the time I spent at my job at the Recreation Centers was volunteering. From coaching Senior and Little League baseball to making ice for Hockey and Speed skating, from Community Club meetings to taking kids to the theatre, there was never a clear line between the forty hour week and what needed to be done. I also had the opportunity to work with countless numbers of volunteer organizations, trying to coordinate city operations to best achieve the needed end goals.
6) Hobbies: As a Recreation Specialists, I have many different ways to play. I love sailing, skiing, canoeing, fishing, table tennis, playing the trombone [to the dismay of my neighbors,] drawing, photography, and my bride’s and my combined love, gardening, to name a few.
7) Your address and contact information:
8714 Beaudry, Duluth, Mn. 55808
218-626-2592
218-355-0919 cell
sunny8714 AT aol DOT com
8) The Hillside and the Lincoln Park neighborhoods are some of the most ethnically diverse areas in the city of Duluth. How do you see this ethnic diversity as an asset to Duluth?
Duluth’s history and success is its diversity. Over a hundred years ago, my family was one of the immigrant families looking for new opportunities.
9) Some people blame the increase in neighborhood problems such as crime on immigrants from Chicago, Milwaukee and Minneapolis. Do you think it's true?
To some degree, it is true. It is not, however, the sole reason for our increase in crime, our own population added to this problem as well.
9a) If so, what do we do about it?
I have always felt that healthy neighborhoods generate from an effective recreation program for kids and families. A safe place to go with good mentoring develops pride in one’s setting and camaraderie among one’s peers. The barriers are bridged for young and old. Effective Community Policing, coordinated with the neighborhood centers, helps identify and help those prone to mischief. We should open our arms to people wishing to start anew. We must also encourage those coming to understand and respect us and our all ready diverse cultures. We are not “where you came from.”
9 b) If not, why not?
10) It is estimated that 15 percent of Duluthians are living below the poverty line including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 9.5% of those age 65. What are some of your ideas to bring Duluthians out of poverty?
Affordable quality housing that can generate a sense of pride is the first place to start and then the opportunity to contribute through meaningful employment. We must always see to it that effective social services are available.
11) The city has a mandatory recycling law yet walking by many people’s homes it is obvious that they do not recycle.
Is recycling important? Absolutely!
12) Why do we have a law on the books if it isn’t going to be enforced?
Great question and so many of those politically correct laws on the books. In the end, there are some things that we should not have to legislate. We as individuals are responsible for our civil behavior. In this case, I believe the contractor can due more to inform and effectively modify behavior.
13) Over-flowing garbage cans are a problem in lower East Hillside. Many of the homes where this is a problem are rental units. What kinds of ideas do you have to prompt landlords to encourage their tenants to take better care of their property?
In this case, I believe the landlord should contract the service and simply add it to rental fees. Whether a home owner or landlord, the pride we take in our neighborhoods and our properties reflects on all the people who live there, on their behavior and attitude.
14) In the last census, Duluth had a dearth of people age 24 to 35? What can be done to attract and keep this population in Duluth? This and question 18 go hand and hand in importance. We must take an inventory of our potential. What are our natural resources? What are our human resources? What are our institutional resources? We are sitting on an Eco-tourism gold mine. We have the hills, the river, the streams, the lake…unique the world over. Our whole region is rich in opportunity if we work together. We also have a very educated, talented, and creative citizenry. Let us encourage our own entrepreneurial spirit to develop related businesses, both manufacturing and services. If we can build airplanes here, we can build boats here, we can make movies here…we can become the cultural and recreational destination of the Midwest.
15) This city has yet to settle the retiree’s health care budget. What type of action would you take?
We must honor the contract that these individuals worked under. These individuals have made their plans according to promises made. Neither the retirees nor current city workers are responsible for this mess. Past administrations and Councils have ignored the problem while pouring money into unnecessary projects.
16) Is paying for health care a problem that needs to be addressed on the city, state or national level?
Cities, States, and great American corporations are all under duress. The only solution is on a National level guaranteeing health and dental for all Americans, young and old alike.
17) Have you or anyone you know, had trouble paying a health care bill or worried about how much health care would cost? I hear tragic stories every day. I also remember the tension with my mother’s illness and my father’s final days.
18) Do the city departments work well together?
How can inter-department work be done more efficiently? This is the most important question. No, Departments do not work well together…nor are they effective on their own. The execution of city services through our City Departments is dysfunctional…no accountability. Service delivery needs reorganization from the bottom up. Supervisors need to serve the worker in the execution of services. We have too much management, too few workers. We also need a shared vision and understanding of our united mission, delivery of services.
19) What makes you unique as a candidate for Mayor?
I have thirty years of a prospective of city government few have. I have worked on the fourth floor and I have been in the bowels of city hall. I have seen the infrastructure citywide. I have seen what works and what doesn’t. I have a vision for Duluth that, I believe, is shared by many. Whether you support me or one of the other candidates, hold her/him and their management team accountable to protect our assets, to deliver services, and lead us to our potential.
Thank you.
