The three DFL candidates running for the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board’s three open at-large positions target improving accessibility to parks, creating more youth programs and addressing funding struggles in their campaign pitches. 

Park board elections will be Nov. 4 alongside elections for Minneapolis mayor, City Council and others. Minneapolis uses ranked choice voting in all municipal elections, meaning residents can rank three candidates for one position from most to least preferred choice. 

There are three at-large positions open for this upcoming election. Two of the at-large commissioners are seeking re-elections, while Commissioner Charles Rucker is not campaigning. 

Tom Olsen, an 11-year resident of Minneapolis and current commissioner, said he was motivated to run for the Park Board after he served on the city’s community environmental advisory commission and got more involved with city politics. 

“I’d always been interested in local politics and making sure that we have sound environmental policy,” Olsen said. “The Minneapolis Park Board absolutely does do that. I wanted to make sure we kept it again.”

Besides environmental advocacy, Olsen said his campaign goals focus on improving safety on high-traffic roadways and creating more youth programs like youth positions and sports. 

“We obviously do a lot of really strong environmental things, which I am all for,” Olsen said. “But I think it’s a little easier to backslide on some of the youth stuff. When we backslide on the youth stuff, that leads to negative consequences down the road that are kind of harder to pinpoint.”

The Park Board proposed a 10% tax levy over the summer to support its services and programs, a situation which Olsen said he would like to prevent. He added improving the relationship between the Board and state Legislature could hopefully lessen the tax burden on Minneapolis residents. 

Michael Wilson, who formerly worked with the Park Board’s aquatics services, said as a former Minneapolis parks employee, he found the at-large commissioner elections were the perfect opportunity to be more involved with the community. 

“I’m interested in having our Park Board really be tuned in proactively with the community and being available to the community to make sure our parks work for all the people who are constituents here in Minneapolis,” Wilson said. 

Wilson said he would like the Board to also focus on increasing traffic calming efforts and creating more youth programs in hopes their affordable services would help busy families, such as expanding swimming lessons. 

The Park Board’s lack of support for the striking Minneapolis park workers over the summer frustrated Wilson, who said it shows the need to fight for park workers. Due to the strike and his frontline work background, Wilson plans to improve union and labor rights for the Park Board.

“The city, the county, the state and people around here are pro-union and pro-frontline worker,” Wilson said. “That’s something that I have a history in, and that is an important piece for me because I really think that frontline worker stability is community stability.” 

Although Wilson has never run for any local elections before, he said his experience as a frontline park worker has given him the teamwork experience to create and manage a successful park board alongside the community. 

Meg Forney, a current at-large commissioner for the Park Board, said she is running for reelection because she wants to continue to work on her long-time goals, such as making the parks and trails more accessible for residents and improving the city’s tree canopy, especially in lower-income areas. 

“I’ve been very involved with the riverfront, what we call above the falls. So that’s probably been, you know, the biggest stretch that I’ve been involved in,” Forney said. “But there are a lot of other things along Bassett Creek, the Midtown Greenway and the Missing Link. There are a lot of areas that still need to have our focus so that all people can enjoy this wonderful asset.”

Finding ways to grow the Park Board’s revenue sources besides property taxes while lessening cost burdens on residents is also a priority, Forney said. She said the Park Board currently receives around 9% of its funding from the state Legislature, however, they hope to receive around 40% every session. 

Olsen said he plans to address these funding issues by bettering relations with the state government by advocating and showing legislators how impactful the Park Board services are to Minneapolis residents. Wilson and Forney echoed similar plans. 

“Many of the things that they love the most about their city, it’s our park system. It’s number one in the nation for a reason. It’s fantastic. It’s one of the greatest draws that we have,” Olsen said. “It’s just kind of continuing to make that argument that it’s smart for the environment. It’s smart for your community. It’s smart for the quality of life of your constituents.”