Ketti Green

Ketti Green is running for Big Lake City Council. Green and her husband, Greg, have a large family of three daughters, two sons-in-law, and three grandsons. She is a high school graduate and currently works as an office assistant at Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office. She is a US Navy Veteran and has served on the Big Lake Planning Commission for 14 years.

Growth: “Big Lake has much to offer. I will supportstaff to promote our city to future residential and commercial developers to grow Big Lake, which will benefit us all.”

Public Safety: “Big Lake is one of the safest cities in Minnesota. I will support first responders while ensuring continued fiscal accountability in our police and fire departments.”

Budgeting: “Big Lake has reduced its outstanding debt significantly. I will work to ensure this continues.”

Communication: “I will make decisions based on what’s best for Big Lake. I will not put party politics or personal agendas ahead of your best interests. As the only female candidate, I bring a unique perspective to the council.”

Ken Halverson

Ken Halverson is running for the Big Lake City Council 2-year seat. He and his wife, Julie, have one son, Tyler. He has worked as a truck driver and served for 30 years as a member of the fire dept. He graduated from Monticello High School, and though he has no degree, he has earned many certifications and has attended several college classes.

Growth: “We should talk to neighboring towns to see how we compare with our codes, ordinances, etc. From talking to members who deal directly with these codes, ours are stringent enough that they push many potential businesses away.”

“With my experience of coaching youth baseball and football, I feel the City of Big Lake would benefit if they had city-owned ball fields. Ball fields are able to draw in revenue through organizations leasing out our fields.”

“As a home-owner, living in the City of Big Lake for over 30 years, I have seen a need for “move-up” housing. I believe many families want to be here, but there is a lack of housing after those of starter homes which pushes families to leave our town.”

Budgeting: “I plan to maintain funding for our police and fire department as these are critical aspects to our great community. While I was the chief of the fire department I worked directly with our budget and worked towards keeping all our firefighters properly equipped and trained, made improvements on our building and still took priority to stay within our budget.”

Government: “One thing I see a need for is a drawback on government overreach. While I feel we need ordinances, permits, etc. right now I believe we have some that infringe on your rights. When elected I will hear your concerns and represent you to the best of my ability.”

Sam Hanson

Sam Hanson is running for City Council. He and his wife, Jenny, are expecting their first baby in March. He works as a sales, communication, and marketing manager at North Country Recycling. He majored in accounting and business at St. Cloud State University.

Public Safety: “When most people think of public safety, police, fire and EMS come to mind. However, engineering, building and code enforcement is often overlooked when the subject comes up. Our engineering and building officials are our city’s first line of defense. Their job is to ensure all roadways and structures in our city are held to high standards. Without them, our first responders’ jobs are much more dangerous. I will promote and maintain integrity among all who serve our city’s public safety. With my first child on the way, I want to make this city as safe as possible for you family as well as mine.”

Transparency: “Over the last year, I have been witness to many decisions that directly impact the residents of Big Lake.  I promise to be an open book and offer details about every decision I make if elected.”

Budgeting: “Due to some unforeseen expenses in our city’s past, we have accrued quite a large debt. Over the last few years, city staff and Council have made great strides in paying down our debt. If elected I will ensure we continue on this downward trend and maintain fiscal responsibility within our city by voting against unsubstantiated spending.”

Taxes: “Taxes help provide and maintain our quality of life and our great sense of safety in our beautiful city. It will be my goal to bring new industry and business to our community, provide more step-up housing for our growing families, and promote our community.”

Alan Heidemann

Alan Heidemann is running for Big Lake City Council. He and his wife, Rachael, have one son, Wyatt. He works as a project manager for Kurita Water in St. Michael. He graduated from Elk River High School and has an AA from Anoka Ramsey Community College. He was the vice-chair of the planning commission in Monticello, he is the current chair of the Big Lake planning commission, and he is the president of the Big Lake Economic Development Authority.

Budgeting: “I think the City and its departments have done a good job in stretching every dollar the city takes in and spending it as wisely as possible while paying down debt very effectively. I feel this needs to be constantly monitored and addressed to ensure our tax dollars are being spent wisely.”

Public Safety: “We are blessed in Big Lake to be considered one of the safest communities in the state of Minnesota. We need to be proactive in maintaining this status by ensuring our police and firefighters have the resources they need to effectively perform their jobs in the community.”

Growth: “Let’s get out of the way of business to encourage growth and new business in Big Lake. We are currently undertaking some aspect of this with the Code Revision Task force. The task force will streamline our city code and bring it up to date with what the market is driving. This will ultimately make it easier for new businesses to open and for current businesses to expand.”

Communication: “I believe anyone who represents the citizens in government should be voted for and not appointed. That being said if elected I will advocate for putting language into the city code on a special election vs. appointment. This will create a concrete standard in which any current or future city councils will follow and make the process not only transparent but black and white with no grey area.”

Paul Knier

Paul Knier is running for mayor of Big Lake. He and his wife, Julie, have been married for 27 years and have five children. He currently works as the president of a financial advisory firm. He has a business degree from the University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management. He is currently serving as a member of the Big Lake City council.

Public Safety: “Our police and fire departments are two of Big Lake’s biggest assets.  Whereas other cities across the country have seen conflict between citizens and the police force in recent years, Chief Scharf has built a solid reputation for the force among the citizenry of Big Lake. As your mayor, I will work to ensure both the police and fire departments have the resources they need to keep Big Lake safe.”

Budgeting: “As Mayor, I’ll look at every spending decision with a critical eye to its necessity, taking into account the needs of City Hall and the taxpayers. I believe economic prosperity is driven by individuals, not government. Therefore, I support smaller government and maximum freedom for the people. One of the biggest issues facing our city is the heavy debt-load. Currently, Big Lake is in debt over $33 million. That number is coming down, which is good, but it’s still high. I recognize the debt wasn’t accrued overnight and it won’t be eliminated overnight, either. As a financial advisor managing over $170 million dollars, I know how to hold the line on spending and pay down debt.”

Transparency: “The right to choose who represents us is a rock-solid core principle of our republic. Should there be an opening that arises on the city council, I support having a special election at the earliest possible opportunity. I oppose the idea of the mayor and council members appointing other council members. The citizens of Big Lake have the right to choose who represents their interests!”

Paul Seefeld

Paul Seefeld is running for Big Lake City Council. He and his wife, Janelle, have one son, Eli. He served for eight years in the army, and was a part of the comprehensive plan task force.

Public Safety: “Big Lake is ranked between the first and second safest city with a population of around 10 thousand. I would like to keep supporting our police and fire. Community involvement also helps. I am a proponent of neighborhood “Connect Groups” that could perhaps meet on a regular basis to raise neighborhood awareness and help local law enforcement know they are not alone in protecting this city.”

Budgeting: “Our city pays $1.5 million in debt service a year. Imagine if that money could be put to things we need or want. If we didn’t have such a high debt load, we wouldn’t need to continue the vicious cycle of raising taxes to pay off the principle and interest. If we save money and pay for things in cash, then we save the taxpayers a lot of money that would otherwise end up going to interest. We need to not just plan for five or 10 years, but 20 to 30 years.”

Transparency: “As a citizen, I asked the city if they could publish the recordings of workshops, and they are now on the city website. I would like to go farther in publishing council and advisory commission agendas, packets, and minutes on my council page and city social media. The council has a duty to let the residents know about projects and plans that are coming down the pike.”

Communication: “I am not in favor of Big Lake’s current position on elected representation. The council appoints people to planning commissions and park boards, but we should let the residents choose who represents them on the council. Appointments allow politicians to hand select councilmembers that agree with them, allowing them to keep their majority intact.”

Mike Wallen

Mike Wallen is running for his incumbent position as mayor. He and his wife Shelly have lived in Big Lake for 25 years and have a daughter, Emily, a son, Andy (Leah), and one granddaughter, Norah. He works as a building official for the cities of St. Joseph, Rockville, Richmond and Kimball. He has spent a total of 10 years on the Big Lake City Council.

Public Safety: “We as a city council must continue to support the exemplary services that make Big Lake the safe city it is. These include: Police, Fire, Building, Streets, and Water/Waste Water. Since we are not sure of the upcoming political or financial climate we will be facing, it’s difficult to truly plan. We will need to be flexible.”

Communication: “With the utilization of social media becoming more predominant, misinformation and opinion based information over facts and truth is much more the norm. We need to continue to find ways to get out up to date and accurate information relating to the city.”

Budgeting: “We need to continue down our present course of aggressive debt reduction and making budgetary decisions that are prudent and have positive long term implications for the City.”

Community Engagement: “It’s imperative that we continue to foster an environment that challenges our entire staff while providing incentives to retain and promote.  Also, as a city we must continue to promote functions/activities that provide entertainment, learning opportunities and showcase all that Big Lake has to offer. Most of the time this doesn’t cost the city anything other than support.”