Politics & Government

2011 Hopkins Mayoral Candidates

A look at the two people competing to be mayor.

When the filing period ended Aug. 16, there were two candidates vying to be Hopkins mayor.

Garold Healy

Time in Hopkins: 14 years

Education: Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA

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Job: Semi-retired sports psychologist and graphic artist

Family: Wife, Judith Sage-Healy, and step daughter

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Government experience

  • Served in the Army Reserves.
  • He and his wife donated a fire department poster that hangs in City Hall.

Other relevant experience

  • “Primarily, it’s business. Government is a business, and it should be run like one.” Healy has seen the business world from a broad spectrum vantages—everything from workers to labor leader to manager to small-business owner.
  • Volunteers at Methodist Hospital and Veterans Affairs.

Issues of interest

  • Spending: “We’re all in the same boat here. “We’ve got to cut spending, and we’ve got to make it as painless as possible for people who receive services.” He would start each year’s budgeting process with zero expenditures and add on only what was necessary, instead of using the last year’s budget as a baseline and increasing from there.  

Biggest challenges facing Hopkins

  • Finances: Hopkins is facing the same financial pressures that other communities are facing: Property values are declining even as budgets increase.

Approach as a Mayor: “To sell the city,” he said. “I would like to see more people involved, get people involved as neighbors. There’s things we can do.”

 

Gene Maxwell

Time in Hopkins: 63 years—all his life except for two years he spent in the Army

Education: Some college

Job: Owner of 

Family: Wife, Eileen; two daughters, Tracy and Kelly; five grandchildren

Government experience

Other relevant experience

  • Knights of Columbus
  • Lions Club
  • Elks
  • American Legion
  • Work with various charities

Issues of interest

  • Budget: The city must continue to balance responsible spending with providing residents quality service.
  • Redevelopment: Maxwell sees more opportunities for redevelopment opening up—especially surrounding the proposed light rail. Completed redevelopment, such as the Cargill corporate campus or , can also spur improvements to neighboring sites.  “It’s kind of like a domino effect,” he said. “If you work on something, it affects what’s around it.”

Biggest challenges facing Hopkins

  • Maintaining housing stock: Hopkins must continue to work at keeping single-family homes.
  • Balanced redevelopment: Hopkins has only about 4½ square miles in which to fit industrial, commercial and residential properties. The way one area is redeveloped affects other areas. The city must continue to be conscious of these effects.

Approach as a Mayor: “I think as a City Council—not just myself as a mayor—we’re willing to listen,” Maxwell said. “We don’t have all the right answers. We have to listen.” That’s especially important because elected officials must consider the entire community when deciding on an issue. “When we make a decision, we have to make sure we’re making it for 17,000 people, not just the group before us.”


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