Mayor Shep Harris discussed how the city will use the extra money and other topics on this week’s 12 News Mayor’s Minute.
Golden Valley Mayor Shep Harris sat down with 12 News during this week’s Mayor's Minutes to discuss the city’s budget surplus, Bottineau Light Rail, franchise fees and more. Check it out in the video above.
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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1:25 pm on Wednesday, January 4, 2012
I had the opportunity to work with Linda first hand when she was one of the facilitators of “Out of school in the Valley”. This collaborative effort between Meadowbrook Elementary, the Northwest YMCA, Common Bond, The Golden Valley Library and Calvary Lutheran Church gave elementary students a place to go after school where there were structured activities and homework help. It was Linda's … more ›
The final installment of our three-part series focuses on Shep Harris' big ideas for the city. Does he still plan on pushing his idea for an amphitheater?
Tonight is the last City Council meeting of the year. Both outgoing members of the council, Mayor Linda Loomis and Bob Shaffer, will be honored with an informal gathering of friends and cake in the room across the hall from council chambers. A similar get-together will take place right after the first council meeting of the year, Jan. 3, to welcome new council member Joannie Clausen and the city's new mayor, Shep Harris. Harris also takes office that day. He beat Loomis in the Nov. 8 mayoral election and has been meeting with city staff, members of various committees and several schools and neighborhood groups ever since. Both before and after the election, Harris has emphasized what he sees as a need for the city to better communicate …
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While campaigning, Shep Harris said communication between the city and its residents needs to improve, and he has several ideas for how to do it.
Editor's Note: This is the second article in a three-part series focusing on Shep Harris, who takes office as the new Golden Valley mayor on Jan. 3. For more on his campaign and political aspirations, see Part I here. On any given day, you might find Golden Valley mayor-elect Shep Harris talking with city staff, attending a PTO meeting or reading with hundreds of kids. On Nov. 18, he joined Mayor Linda Loomis and several others from the city, in the "Reading by Example" program at Noble Elementary. "Being in the public eye means more than just smiling for photo ops," Harris said. "Linda has done a good job of being more than a mayor in name only, and she deserves a lot of credit for the work she's done." While Harris applauds Loomis' work …
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3:24 pm on Wednesday, December 14, 2011
A public meeting is in the works for mid-January. Details to be released soon. If you have questions about the proposals, feel free to call me at 612-219-8531 and/or go to www.bottineautransitway.org. - Shep Harris more ›
Shep Harris begins his term Jan. 3. This week we had a frank discussion about the election, fundraising and his political aspirations.
When Shep Harris walked into Golden Valley Golf and Country Club Friday for the 125th anniversary celebration, several people immediately walked up to him and greeted the mayor-elect. About three-and-a-half weeks before the city's anniversary, Harris and several dozen supporters stood in the back of Doolittles Restaurant and waited for the election results to come in. Although Harris had worked on several state and federal campaigns, this was the first time his name was on a ballot. “We ran a good campaign,” Harris told Patch that night. “We had over 50 volunteers. We started campaigning back in July and connected with thousands of residents and business people.” One big reason Harris was able to win the election? He spent a lot of money…
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Noble Elementary students shared a lesson in literacy with important people in the community.
All eyes in Mr. Hubred's fourth-grade class were focused on Golden Valley Police Chief Stacy Carlson as she opened the cover of Bat Night at the Library and began to read last Friday at Noble Elementary School. "I've never met a police chief before," 9-year-old Wynter said. "And I've never had one read to me either." For the past three years, Noble staff invited firefighters to read to their students, and reading specialist Melissa Kivi said that made an impression. "Our kids are coming in further and further behind," she said. "We need to do whatever we can to find new ways to reach kids—especially the ones who are struggling." Kivi figured if firefighters could make an impression, then certainly the mayor or the police chief could, too. …
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Harris spends thousands, beats incumbent Linda Loomis.
Shep Harris’ confidence was well-founded just after 8 p.m. Tuesday, as initial results showed him taking an early lead in the race for mayor of Golden Valley. With several-dozen supporters in a back room at Doolittles Restaurant, Harris was attached to his cell phone as reports were coming in from the various precincts. “We ran a good campaign,” he said. “We had over 50 volunteers. We started campaigning back in July and connected with thousands of residents and business people.” Harris said he raised more than $20,000 to finance his campaign. “I got some criticism for that, but I felt it was necessary and that it was required in order to assure the voters of getting a good campaign.” By the end of the night, with a city voter turnout of …
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9:52 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
What is disheartening is seeing how an election can divide a community. Sure we all have our differences, but I am sure that both Mayor Loomis and Mayor Elect Harris want what is best for the community. So instead of the infighting, finger pointing and unfounded allegations, we should all rally around our community leaders. Share our concerns and make sure that their actions continue to improve … more ›
Here's what the candidates want you to know before you head to the voting booth.
More than 100 people crowded into the City Hall council chambers on Oct. 26, and more than a dozen filled the meeting room across the hall to watch the League of Women Voters forum on closed-circuit TV. Election day in Golden Valley is this Tuesday, Nov. 8, and the forum was an opportunity to hear the candidates for mayor and two City Council seats speak about themselves and the issues. This guide is intended to give you as much information about where the candidates stand and what they envision for Golden Valley's future. To learn more about the candidates themselves, you can read Patch's profile on incumbent Linda Loomis here and challenger Shep Harris here. One candidate that many people wanted to learn about was Jeff Beck, one of three…
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He's looking to increase government approachability and neighborhood ties.
Editor's Note: Patch profiled incumbent candidate Linda Loomis on Wednesday, Oct. 12. Candidate Jeff Beck has not responded to Patch's requests for an interview. Shep Harris’s first experience volunteering for a political campaign was in the late 1980s, when he was a high school student in New Orleans. David Duke, a former Grand Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, had just won the Republican primary in a special election for a Louisiana House seat, and Harris knew he had to work to defeat him. “Here was a very smart, very intelligent politician who was in the right place at the right time,” Harris said, “and you wake up one morning after a primary and realize you can’t take anything for granted—you have to be engaged, because if you’re not, …
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1:48 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Apparently Harry doesn't know any lobbyists, including Shep Harris. Lobbyists are paid to be advocates for their clients. They can only be good advocates for clients that they support. Harry's comment that lobbyists are "only loyal to money" suggests lobbyists represent clients they personally and morally oppose. Any examples Harry, or is this just rhetoric on a professsion you don't understand? … more ›
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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Lydia Konsor
8:12 pm on Wednesday, March 27, 2013
The fact that the mayor thinks he has created a surplus shows how little he understands city finance. If you look at the past 10 years this is really not unique and shows how desperate he is to add "notches to his gun". more ›