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Dan Josephson (Detroit Lakes City Council Ward 3, Minnesota, candidate 2024)
From Ballotpedia
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Dan Josephson ran for election to the Detroit Lakes City Council Ward 3 in Minnesota. He was on the ballot in the general election on November 5, 2024.[source]
Josephson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
[1]Biography
Dan Josephson provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on October 3, 2024:
- Birth date: September 10, 1978
- Birth place: Detroit Lakes, Minnesota
- High school: Detroit Lakes High School
- Bachelor's: Gustavus Adolphus College, 2001
- Bachelor's: Minnesota State University Moorhead, 2003
- Gender: Male
- Profession: Nonprofit Program Director
- Incumbent officeholder: Yes
- Campaign Facebook
Elections
General election
General election for Detroit Lakes City Council Ward 3
Aaron Dallmann and Dan Josephson ran in the general election for Detroit Lakes City Council Ward 3 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | ||
| Aaron Dallmann (Nonpartisan) | ||
Dan Josephson (Nonpartisan)  | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Election results
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Josephson in this election.
Campaign themes
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Dan Josephson completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Josephson's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Living in Detroit Lakes, I’ve seen the city as a child growing up in the schools that prepared me to be a community leader with thoughtful perspective, as a young adult coming back home after college to start a career, and now giving back to the community through the city council. I take my responsibility seriously by working to understand all the issues to make the tough choices for the betterment of the entire community. I am respectful in my process and deliberative in my actions. I believe transparency and proper planning are essential cornerstones of all government. I show up to meetings with an eagerness of knowing the actions taken today will impact the next generation’s choice to come back to a thriving community they can call home.
- We need to continue to take care of our streets, buildings and basic infrastructure. One of the main purposes of city government is to provide these services of the community. It is the duty of the city council to use our resources wisely and plan for maintenance and ways to fund projects in a responsible manner. I have worked to ensure we are back in a good spot with responsible budgets and proper planning to ensure the city is taking care of these basic items.
- The final and maybe the most important segment of West Lake Drive in on the schedule for reconstruct in 2026. 2025 is going to be an important year for community meetings and planning sessions for this project. We need leadership that is willing to take a look at this project with the same blood vision past city leaders did when the pavilion was constructed in 1915 and again when the city beach was developed in the 1960s. We have a great opportunity to revitalize this area and build upon the dreams of past to create for the next generation to make memories and want to call Detroit Lakes home.
- The city of Detroit Lakes needs more housing opportunity and growth areas. The latest housing study shows the city needs additional housing for our current and growing population. Area businesses and industry need more workers in order to attract more worker we need more housing inventory. We need a diverse range of housing options from starter homes to family homes to places for our residents to transition to as they grow old in our community. The next generation seems to be interested in different living options and we need to be willing to help in this process as new developments and redevelopments are presented to the city. We have been fortunate through the years that we remain vibrant community people want to call home.
I am passionate in being involved in the process of making Detroit Lakes as place people want to live and be proud to call home. I enjoy the process of including community members in the process and firmly believe that we need an open and fair process of governing the city. This does take time and effort both on the part of the city council but also of the community members. I take the time to learn about the issues and read about all the items that make up our city. I show up prepared engaged and take an active part in all discussions. I make my positions known and take the time to explain my reasoning for my decisions I make as a member of the council. I believe my transparency is an asset as I am looking out for the entire community.
The core principles of an elected official are to be engaged, informed, and show up ready to work for the community that you are representing. An elected official but be respectful and be willing to have open and honest discussion and debate without the need to take personal issue with other members of the city council, city staff, or community members. In no way does this mean you cannot have disagreements but doing so in a respectful manner is one of the cornerstones of our country. It is thought debate and compromise that we get things accomplished and continuing in this way we can ensure we are balancing our needs as a city for our entire community.
I am a deliberative person that takes the time to learn and understand people and issues. I enjoy the city government process and show up ready to work with the passion that people expect of their leaders. I work for the entire community and always have the bigger picture in mind that looks out for the city and puts that at the forefront of my decisions. I make my position known in a respectful and responsible way. I show up ready and engaged to each meeting and work to create a city that people can be proud to call home or want to call home in the future.
Local government is that form of government impacts people's lives most on a daily basis. From the roads you drive on to the police and fire protection to the water you drink. Taking care of these basic needs are part of role city government plays.
City government is one of the most basic forms of government and have a bigger impact on peoples daily life in many ways more than state or federal government. City government provides for public safety in police and fire protection, streets, and public spaces like parks and recreation, utility services. Each of these area do take money to provide, maintain, and offer. The city budgeting process is an open process where the city council with public opportunity to engage go through the entire city budget line by line each year. The city council listens to budget requests from each department head. Other budget requests are entertained as they might relate to the interest of the city. The entire budget is looked as a whole and tough choices are made each year as to what the needs are of the entire city and a reasonable compromise is made as we set the property tax levy is set. In addition to the tax levy being set each year capital improvement plans as made and updated to forecast what our greatest needs are and identify how to complete projects while watching out for the budget impacts to the community. The city also works on and updates its comprehensive plan to indicate to what our community needs are for growth, redevelopment, housing, and business needs, etc. All of these documents are available for review for the public and each of these meetings is open to the public and encouraged to attend and be part of the process.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Detroit Lakes City Council Ward 3 |
Footnotes
