(VIDEO) Relationships Key For Hopkins' Met Council Rep

For Metropolitan Council Member Jennifer Munt, relationships are very important.

It was a relationship that brought her from her city girl lifestyle to Minnetonka. It was her relationship with her community that led to her current position as a Met Council member. And it is through her relationships with the communities she serves that she hopes to create a bridge between her former city life and her current suburban one.

Munt—who was appointed in March to represent the Met Council's District 3 which serves Hopkins— introduced herself to the City Council Tuesday and talked about her hopes for the relationship between her and the council.

“I’m passionate about public participation, and I look forward to helping community members gain a meaningful voice in decisions that affect the region and their daily lives,” she said.

Munt said her early years in Minneapolis were quite different from theBeachside community she moved to 15 years ago.

“I was a city girl growing up," she said. "I was never more than 5 minutes away from anything I needed.”

Even though she lives in Minnetonka, she said she  considers Hopkins to be her community. She was drawn in by the close proximity of Mainstreet and the way that she can develop a relationship with a local shop.

“At Nelson’s Meat Market, they know what cuts of meat I like," she said. "If I go to the hardware store, they remember what color I painted my living room, and I love that about our community.”

In addition to Hopkins, Munt represents a number of cities in Hennepin County—including Eden Prairie, Excelsior, Wayzata and Minnetonka.

Munt has served as the executive director of the Nokomis East Neighborhood Association and was the outreach coordinator for the Metropolitan Council. She's currently the public affairs director for AFSCME Council 5. 

But she put the most emphasis on her work in transportation. Before being elected to the Council, she worked as the communications director on the Hiawatha Light Rail project. She's also president of Transit for Livable Communities, which is a nonprofit that advocates for a balanced transportation system.  

She emphasized her willingness and capabilities to help push light rail construction out to the west metro and, in particular, Hopkins.

“I am excited to be within walking distance of the (future) Shady Oak light rail station,” she said.

She may see her goal of building up transportation shift from something a long way off to something within walking distance—just the way she likes it.

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