2012 Voters Guide For District 5 Neighborhoods

Bryn Mawr Downtown East Downtown West Elliot Park Harrison Loring Park Near North North Loop Sumner-Glenwood Willard Hay

For Neighborhood Representative Members on the Citys Neighborhood and Community Engagement Commission

Candidate information and questionnaire responses Compiled by the Neighborhood and Community Relations Department
Voters Guides are available online at the Citys Web site: http://www.minneapolismn.gov/ncr/boards/ncec/2012_Neighborhood_Elections

The City of Minneapolis invites and encourages participation by every resident to each program, service and event within our city. Should you require an accommodation in order for you to fully participate, or should you require this document in a different format, please let us know by contacting 612-673-3737, TTY: 612-673-2157, at least 5 days prior to the meeting. English: Attention. If you want help understanding this information, call 612-673-3129. Spanish: Atencin. Si desea recibir asistencia gratuita para traducir esta informacin, llame al 612-673-2700 Somali: Ogow. Haddii aad dooneyso in lagaa kaalmeeyo tarjamadda macluumaadkani oo lacag la aan wac 612-673-3500 Hmong: Ceeb toom. Yog koj xav tau kev pab dawb txhais cov xov no, hu 612673-2800

Voters Guide District 5

How have your life/work/cultural experiences prepared you to be a neighborhood representative on the NCEC? How have you participated in your neighborhood organization? Describe why you want to serve on the NCEC. How do you plan to maintain a relationship with the neighborhoods you would represent, if elected? How do you plan to engage with under-represented groups within your district? Please list any community-based organization(s) with which you are currently involved. Please list all current paid and unpaid affiliations.

Candidates for District 5:

Jesse Winkler Pages 3-4

Kenya McKnight Pages 5-6

The City-wide meeting to elect five neighborhood Commissioners will be held on Thursday, June 28, 2012 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 pm at Minnehaha Academy-North Campus: City-Wide Election for Districts 2, 4, 5, 6 & 8 Thursday, June 28, 2012 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM Minnehaha Academy-North Campus 3100 West River Parkway Minneapolis, MN 55406 (Click here for a MAP and DIRECTIONS) The building is ADA accessible. If any special accommodations are needed, please contact 612-673-2243. All votes must be cast on June 28, 2012.

If you have any questions about the elections for Districts 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 or the Voters Guide, please feel free to call Cheyenne Erickson at (612) 673-2052 or Carrie Day Aspinwall at (612) 673-2243. You can also find more information on our website at http://www.minneapolismn.gov/ncr/boards/ncec/2012_Neighborhood_Elections.

Jesse Winkler
Page 1 of 2 1. How have your life/work/cultural experiences prepared you to be a neighborhood representative on the NCEC? I have been a part of many different organizations that continually shape and educate me on my neighborhoods. I have the opportunity of living in Elliot Park and working in downtown Minneapolis. I have worked downtown for 9 years and spend the majority of my time downtown. Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association As the Vice Chair, I have the opportunity of being a part of the future of Downtown and Minneapolis. Precinct Co-Chair I have the opportunity to endorse and help get candidates elected who help make Minneapolis a better city. Restorative Justice Community Action As a community member, I have the opportunity to interact with individuals who commit crimes within downtown and come to an agreement that benefits the community and restorative to the offender. Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission As a former commissioner, I heard cases involving civil rights violations from Minneapolis residents and decided on an appropriate outcome of action. Being a member of the above organizations have given me the ability to interact with many different people. I am a hard worker and listen to all positions of the argument. I represent the larger picture, not my own agenda. 2. How have you participated in your neighborhood organization? I am a resident of Downtown East and serve as the Co-Chair of the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association. Being on the Board for the DMNA gives me the opportunity to give my input regarding transportation, development, housing, entertainment, and etc. in the downtown neighborhoods. 3. Describe why you want to serve on the NCEC. I have a strong sense of community and appreciate the importance of neighborhood organizations. I believe neighborhoods can work together for a common cause. I believe in collaboration. I love to represent others and will be a great advocate for the Minneapolis neighborhoods. 4. If elected, how do you plan to maintain a relationship with the neighborhoods you would represent? I will remain available to all groups and make sure I visit all community neighborhood meetings. I will build upon the great communication of our current District 5 Representative and continue to listen and talk to members of NCEC District 5. As Vice Chair on the Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association, I will leverage my position to bring community leaders together to discuss issues at hand.

Jesse Winkler
Page 2 of 2 CURRENT EXAMPLE OF HOW I AM DOING THIS ON THE BOARD OF THE DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION: I am working with fellow Directors and our staff to put together a Saturday morning breakfast to bring together the Board of Director members and staff from adjacent neighborhoods to get to know each other and discuss current issues facing citizens of Minneapolis and options for resolution of these issues. 5. How do you plan to engage with under-represented groups within your district? Like any process or organization, communication is key. I will communicate to people the importance of the neighborhood process. People knowing they are imperative to the process will hopefully spark their interest in the process. I will leverage my involvement with Restorative Justice Community Action to draw people to be a part of their neighborhood process. 6. Please list any community-based organization(s) with which you are currently involved. Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association Vice Chair Restorative Justice Community Member 7. Please list all current paid and unpaid affiliations. Downtown Minneapolis Neighborhood Association Vice Chair Unpaid Restorative Justice Unpaid Ian Alexander for MN House Unpaid Don Samuel for County Commissioner - Unpaid Licensed Minister Unpaid

Kenya McKnight
Page 1 of 2

1. How have your life/work/cultural experiences prepared you to be a neighborhood representative on the NCEC? I have worked in community most of my life and have been to value community by way of caring about my environment and actively participating to make it better in whatever way I can contribute. I am a resident of Minneapolis for more than 29yrs and going on 28yrs in North Minneapolis. I have worked with several youth groups, within the public school system, participated in several public policy trainings, worked as a community organizer and policy advocate effecting social justice change. I serve on the Metropolitan councils Transportation Advisory Board and few community boards representing focusing on regional planning and local community equity around development, community engagement and more. I have been involved with my neighborhood association (Northside Residents Redevelopment Council) over the past 5yrs and very strongly over the past year to help in its effort to rebuild itself. I attended the Communities conference held by the City of Minneapolis in 2012, I participate in the North First initiative (transportation committee) and serve as a core member of the Northside Transportation Network (NTN). I am pretty involved within my region and local community and believe that my past and current activities and experience has provided me with essential tools to participate and add value to the NCEC commission. 2. How have you participated in your neighborhood organization? 1. I began working with NRRC as an intern in 2007 to help with their upcoming board elections. I created a new format to reach out to the broader community and to bring new energy to the board. I organized outreach efforts with 8 youth and conducted 2 rounds of door knocking efforts and assisted every candidate with their campaign materials and outreach. That year 5 new board members were elected to the board where I helped orientate them to the board. I raised $300 for a NRRC lead youth sneaker project with North High School to help youth design sneakers for a national contest. I worked on several housing projects assisting renters with coordinating maintenance/repair issues within their rental units and various office duties as needed I coordinated meetings between NRRC and the University of MN around the UROC initiative I most recently worked on the Emerson North housing project in North Minneapolis as a resident of Old Highland serving on the Community Benefits Agreement committee to help ensure the immediate and larger neighborhood residents voice was a part of the process. There is still much work to be done and lots of loose ends to be tied to ensure that the project meets the core interest and needs of the Northside community.

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Kenya McKnight
Page 2 of 2 3. Describe why you want to serve on the NCEC. I want to serve on the NCEC to learn more about the broader focus for Minneapolis neighborhoods and add value to the momentum that has been built and be a voice for under-represented communities throughout the city and the North Minneapolis community. 4. If elected, how do you plan to maintain a relationship with the neighborhoods you would represent? I plan to continue all of my existing efforts combined with and efforts lead by the NCEC. The only real difference I see is a need to intentionally communicate any important information, venues or actions of the NCEC to existing networks to help bridge our thinking and efforts to become more collective for a greater impact. 5. How do you plan to engage with under-represented groups within your district? I will use existing channels that I operate within and set up one to one meetings with anyone who would like to learn more about NCEC in addition to quarterly meetings or as needed to update constituents about major decisions NCEC will be weighing on in-order to gain more feedback and for general updates. 6. Please list any community-based organization(s) with which you are currently involved. Northside Transportation Network, North Point Health & Wellness, Metropolitan Transportation Advisory Board, Masjid An-Nur, Northside Residents Redevelopment Council, Community Engagement Steering Committee, Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative, Above The Falls commission and a few others 7. Please list all current paid and unpaid affiliations. Listed Above