Dear Neighbor,

Last November the citizens of Maplewood sent a clear message that they're tired of being "The Twin Cities' Most Dysfunctional Suburb," as City Pages described Maplewood. They elected me to the Maplewood City Council to shift the balance of power and bring some common sense to city hall. As a councilmember, my focus is on three things: fiscal responsibility, good government, and pride in Maplewood.

Fiscal responsibility is not as simple as blindly cutting taxes; it is about making the right investment decisions for the long term. In the past we seemed to be both raising taxes (with the second highest levy increase in the past decade) and making bad investment choices (such as cutting capital funding for our parks by 72%).

Good government means mutual respect among council, staff, and citizens. It means valuing the professionalism and expertise of city employees. Above all, it means making decisions motivated by the public good, not personal vendetta.

Finally, while we are all embarrassed by the picture drawn of Maplewood in the papers during the past two years, we can't fairly blame the media for reporting the news; I'm changing the story itself through good leadership, instead. I'm working to bring the headlines back to stories of our beautiful parks, our treasured open spaces, our thriving world-class business, our visionary entrepreneurs, the safety of our neighborhoods, and the successes of our children.

Guiding the direction of a city is hard work, but I'm prepared for it. I created a publishing business and have run it successfully for 17 years, so I know what it means to do whatever is necessary to get the job done, and I know how to do my homework to understand complex issues. I brought my message of positive change to the voters, and they listened.

Welcome to my website, and thank you for taking the time to learn a little more about me and my position on the Maplewood City Council. I want to earn your support, and I want to hear about your concerns and ideas. Maplewood's slogan is "together we can" -- and I know that when the citizens of Maplewood come together, we CAN build a future better than it's ever been before.

Sincerely,
John Nephew