Happy New Year to one and all. And special thanks to the many who stop by my downtown office whenever the “Mayor is In” sign is out of the sidewalk on Third Street. I so appreciate our good talks.
Let’s keep it up.
There’s an old saying in politics that we need to always learn from the past but focus on the future. I can’t speak for the City Council. But as mayor, let me offer a few observations on where I think we should be heading in 2022 and beyond.
No particular order of priority. These are all important.
Open government: Continue to strive for a city government that is open, respectful, inclusive, and responsive to our people at every level. That means really listening – not just going through the motions.
Public safety: Bring and keep our police and fire departments up to full capacity. Our citizens deserve to be safe. And our cops and first responders deserve to be thanked and respected for the hard and dangerous work they perform for us every day.
Live within our means: Red Wing has substantial monetary reserves, and Minnesota has more than $7 billion extra dollars in the bank. As I’ve said many times before, no working family should be paying one extra dime in taxes, especially with rising food and energy prices biting at people’s paychecks.
Downtown and West End development: We are heading in the right direction, with more new restaurants and other great small businesses bringing in more people. There are plans to redevelop empty space downtown for residential living. We need to keep exploring more fiscally responsible incentives to help keep up the progress.
Tourism and community quality of life: 2022 will bring river boats to Levee Park, diversity celebrations, the arts, wonderful summer music, fabulous food, and so much more. We need to keep spreading the word, not only locally, but to folks all over the region to come and enjoy the great things we have to offer.
Now what do you think?
When “The Mayor is IN” sign is out at 327 Third Street, feel free to stop in and share your ideas and opinions.
Remember, if it’s important to you, it’s important to me.
Remember to tune in to KCUE Radio 1250 at 9 a.m. on the second and fourth Thursday of every month for “A Conversation With Mike.” It’s a live interview where you ask the questions. And I’ll also share the topics that were discussed, and what will be discussed, at the City Council meetings the second and fourth Monday of each month.
First published on the Republican Eagle, January 7th, 2022
