Matt Percy (Mayor of Circle Pines, Minnesota, candidate 2025)

Matt Percy

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Mayor of Circle Pines

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

University of Minnesota, Morris, 1996

Personal

Birthplace

Minneapolis, Minn.

Religion

Atheist

Profession

IT specialist

Contact

Personal LinkedIn

Matt Percy is running for election to the Mayor of Circle Pines in Minnesota. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Percy completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Matt Percy provided the following biographical information via Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey on September 12, 2025:

• Birth place: Minneapolis, Minnesota
• High school: Blaine Senior High School
• Bachelor's: University of Minnesota, Morris, 1996
• Gender: Male
• Religion: Atheist
• Profession: IT Specialist
• Prior offices held:
  • Council Member (2012-Prsnt)
• Incumbent officeholder: No

Elections

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Mayor of Circle Pines

Matt Percy is running in the general election for Mayor of Circle Pines on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Matt Percy (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbency information for this election was not available.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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Campaign themes

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Matt Percy completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Percy's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Matt has lived in Circle Pines for twenty-two years and has been involved in many city groups, including being an adult leader of Circle Pines Scouts BSA pack and troop 65, as well as serving on the city Planning Commission, Centennial Fire District Steering Committee and the Circle Pines City Council. Matt works in IT for a bank in Minneapolis and loves making smart investments that pay long term dividends.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Public Safety: Nothing is more important than knowing that our emergency responders have your back. I believe our police and firefighters deserve the best support, paid for as efficiently as possible. That's why I voted to contract with the Spring Lake Park/Blaine/Mounds View fire department, to ensure that we get even better service at a reduced cost.
• Infrastructure: Circle Pines recently finished our long-term plan to completely reconstruct sewer, water and gas lines and build high-quality streets. Now we need to focus on keeping them in excellent shape. I will make sure that street maintenance gets the funding it needs.
• Parks: Some of our parks are due for an update. I support investing money to raise them up, for example improving the concessions stand and other areas of Carl Eck Park.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Two areas: 1) Efficiency. Circle Pines is a small community. Providing everything ourselves is insanely expensive. That's why for many years we have partnered with surrounding towns to provide joint police and fire coverage, spreading out the costs and delivering solid service. 2) Community Engagement. Folks around town are used to seeing me on their doorstep asking questions and coming back with answers. We have to stay tuned in, especially at the local level where decisions impact us so directly.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Being honest and transparent. Many people today don't trust their leaders and that's because some of those leaders gave them good reason not to. Elected officials need to hold themselves to a higher standard. If we don't know the answer, admit that and then commit to finding it out.

What is your favorite book? Why?

This might be a downer, but it's George Orwell's 1984. That book describes a world where actual truth does not exist; even worse it is outright defined by the government. They do this by destroying people's ability to trust any authority other than that of the in-charge leaders. Today we are seeing many applications of this and it has me very concerned.

If the mayor in your city is a member of the city council and there's a city manager appointed to handle the day-to-day administration of the city government, what do you believe should be the mayor's top priority in office?

The mayor and council should set the vision for the city and leave the details to the city manager. I have watched councils that micro-managed their staff and it is not pretty; the result is long hours, frustrated employees and everyone questioning what the city's real direction really is. Councils (and mayors) should let their staff get down in the weeds and develop recommendations which will then be chosen by the council.

What do you love most about your city?

Our city is small enough that people still have a sense of connection -- to their neighbors, their school system and especially their local elected officials.

What do you perceive to be your city's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Being able to keep providing high-level services while maintaining a reasonable property tax rate. I believe the key to this is to plan improvements out 10-20 years, then tackle a small amount each year. The cost curve for our residents should be a gentle slope, not a cliff.

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Mayor Dave Bartholomay

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.

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