Freiberg Vows to Focus on Jobs, Education

Golden Valley City Councilmember Mike Freiberg celebrated a lot last week, including winning the election for state representative in House District 45B, the birth of his first son, and his daughter's birthday.

Ten days before the election, Mike Freiberg and his wife, Lauren, celebrated the birth of their first son, Joseph. Right before the election, Freiberg's daughter, Rose, turned three. Then, on Nov. 6, Freiberg had another event to celebrate: A victory in the election for state representative in House District 45B. "I'm really happy about the win," Freiberg wrote to Patch, admitting that he had an 11-day-old baby in his lap while he was writing. "Even though we've had great legislators in District 45, I feel like both my results and the result statewide suggest that people in the state want the legislature to focus on bread and butter issues, like education and jobs." Frieberg added that during his time as state representative, he wants to …

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District 45 Candidates Focus on Education Funding, Achievement Gap in Forum

Candidates from District 45 answered education-based questions at a forum last week.

Adult basic education, special education, the achievement gap and early childhood education were topics discussed at the Robbinsdale Area Schools Legislative Action Coalition last week. Attendees included: Reid Johnson, the GOP candidate for State Representative District 45B could not attend. Moderator Carissa Wyant asked a total of eight questions through the hour-long forum. Each candidate had 90 seconds to answer. The below topics were discussed: Early Childhood Education: All candidates agreed that early childhood learning is one of the most important staples of Minnesota's education program. "I think all day [kindergarten] and early education is one of the most important functions of education that's out there," Freiberg said. "I see …

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Mike Freiberg, DFL Endorsed Candidate for State Representative District 45B

Freiberg is a current Golden Valley City Councilmember.

Name : Mr. Mike Freiberg Age : Place of residence : Golden Valley Attended college : Yes College : Georgetown University Degree : B.A. Year of graduation : 1999 University : William Mitchell College of Law Degree : J.D. Year of graduation : 2005 Job titles held : City Council Member Employers : City of Golden Valley Party affiliation : Democrat Running for a: State office Running for position: State Representative, District 45B Chamber/district: House District 45B Incumbent: No Previous elective offices : Golden Valley City Council, 2004-present Unsuccessful bids for elective offices : none Address 6601 Olympia Street Golden Valley MN 55427 Website : www.mikefreiberg.com Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/mobileprotection#!/…

Animosity at the New Council's First Meeting

There were tense moments during the nomination process for mayor pro tem, as council members continued arguments about the dismissal of the Human Rights Commission last month.

Tuesday night's first meeting of the new Golden Valley City Council began with the swearing in of Mayor Shep Harris and council members Mike Freiberg and Joanie Clausen. They posed for pictures and took a break for a reception with cake and coffee across the hall from council chambers. But the pleasant mood changed sharply when the council reconvened to discuss nominating one of the council members to the position of mayor pro tem, which led to a discussion about the dismissal of the members of the Human Rights Commission during the Dec. 20 meeting. The mayor pro tem would fill in for Harris if he could not act as mayor for some reason. Over the past decade, the mayor pro tem has only run council meetings on a few occasions when former …

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(Photos) New City Council Takes Office Tuesday Night

Three members of the city council, including the mayor, were sworn in to office.

The first order of business for the 2012 Golden Valley City Council was to welcome its new and returning members on Tuesday night in council chambers. Judge Myron Greenberg presided over the swearing in of Mayor Shep Harris, who beat out former mayor of Golden Valley, Linda Loomis, in the Nov. 8 election. Joannie Clausen, also elected Nov. 8, also began her new term on the city council Tuesday night, while Mike Freiberg, a member for the past eight years, was sworn in for another term after winning re-election. Here are the images from the first meeting of the new Golden Valley City Council on Jan. 3, 2012. As always, feel free to upload your own photos to this page, and if you'd like to send well wishes to the new council members, please …

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Linda Loomis: 'Ten Years as Mayor, Decades of Service'

Mayor Linda Loomis will end her term today when Shep Harris is sworn in as the new mayor tonight. The city council spoke highly of Loomis when it honored her at the last meeting of the year.

After Tuesday night's city council meeting, Linda Loomis will no longer be the mayor of Golden Valley after serving for ten years. Loomis lost her bid for re-election when Shep Harris won the Nov. 8 election. As both Loomis and others have said, she worked overtime in a role that's officially labeled a part-time job. During her last city council meeting on Dec. 20, 2011, members spoke highly of Loomis' work as mayor but also spoke about Loomis' work outside the mayor's office—something Loomis said she plans to continue. Council Member Paula Pentel addressed council chambers and spoke on behalf of the council as she presented Loomis with a silver bowl "or her dedication, service and commitment to excellence on behalf of the citizens of …

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Mike Freiberg and Joanie Clausen Elected to Golden Valley City Council

Incumbent Freiberg easily re-elected, Clausen finally wins one.

For Joanie Clausen, Tuesday night's victory was especially sweet. She ran unsuccessfully for the City Council in 2001, 2005 and 2009, and ran for mayor in 2007. "I almost didn't run this time," she said Tuesday night, while celebrating at Doolittle's Restaurant. "But ten minutes before the deadline, I went ahead and filed. And then I knocked on doors. I think I know every door bell and door knob in the city. I haven't worked this hard in any of the other elections, and this just feels awesome." While incumbent Mike Freiberg took nearly 40 percent of the vote, Clausen beat out former Mayor Blair Tremere by nearly 10 percentage points. City Council Race (according to MN Secretary of State): "People really responded to my message, which was …

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Mike Freiberg

7:50 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011

Thank you, Brad! I don't think anybody's election is ever a foregone conclusion, but I appreciate the words. You're doing a great job on the Open Space Commission!   more ›

City Council Candidate Mike Freiberg: Running For A Third Term

He has championed a smoke-free ordinance and a domestic partnership registry.

Editor's Note: Patch is profiling each of the candidates for the Golden Valley City Council in alphabetical order.  On Wednesday we profiled Joanie Clausen.  Check back tomorrow for Greg Keivit and Monday for Blair Tremere. Mike Freiberg considers himself the City Council candidate of experience. His family moved to Golden Valley when he was only 6 weeks old, and he’s never left. In college he interned with Sen. Pall Wellstone and Golden Valley’s U.S. Rep. Martin Olav Sabo, and in 2007 he married his wife, Lauren, at the Golden Valley Historical Society Building. An attorney for the Public Health Law Center and an adjunct professor of legislation at William Mitchell, Freiberg said his legal background has been helpful in his two terms on …

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Three For Mayor, Four For Council

The field widens on the last day candidates could file for Golden Valley offices.

On Nov. 8, three people will vie for mayor and four for two City Council positions. On the last day candidates could file for Golden Valley offices, one mayoral candidate and one council candidate stepped forward. Jeffrey A. Beck filed to run for mayor Tuesday. He ran against Mayor Linda Loomis in 2007. Loomis filed for re-election last week. Shep Harris filed for mayor on Aug. 2. Also on Tuesday, Greg Keivit filed to run for City Council. He will face current Councilman Mike Freiberg, Blair Tremere and Kristen Turbenson. Current City Councilman Bob Shaffer has said he will not run for a third term. Golden Valley Patch will run profiles on each candidate as the election nears.

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