Minnesota and North Dakota Voter's Guide

Forum Communications Co., in collaboration with the League of Women Voters of Minnesota and of North Dakota, is providing this voter guide to help keep you informed ahead of the 2024 election.

  • Learn where candidates running for office in your community stand on the issues.
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Voter Guide

Chaska City Council Member Ward 2

As local legislators who sometimes have executive power, council members can propose ordinances, set administrative policy, and authorize the budget proposed by the mayor. They oversee all city activities, including city services, programs, licensing, and public safety. Mayoral appointments to city government typically require council approval.Voting in local elections is important - learn more here: Why Vote for City CouncilA candidate forum for this race is scheduled for Thursday, October 10, 2024, at 7:00 pm at Chaska City Hall, 1 City Hall Plaza, Chaska MN 55318.

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  • Candidate picture

    Joshua D. Benesh
    (NP)

Biographical Information

Why are you the best candidate for this position? (750 characters)

If elected, what will your top three priorities be and why? (500 characters)

How do you plan to engage with and represent all members of our diverse community?(500 characters)

What steps will you take to ensure transparency and accountability in city government? (500 characters)

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I have the drive to be a leader, desire to learn how to lead our city, and continue that process through my term. With my past experiences leading others, I feel like I'm in a great position to be a part of our city council.
a. Managing growth responsibly, and equitably. As growth is imminent, we want to make sure that the challenges associated with it are done responsibly, over all parts of our community. b. Keeping our city infrastructure up to date by maintaining and updating facilities as necessary and listening to the people of Chaska for their needs. c. Being a leader in the state of Minnesota when it comes to fiscal policies, managing our expectations, and being a place where people want to live and work.
While Chaska is the “Best Small Town in Minnesota”, we must recognize that we are growing and becoming more diverse – which will continue to help Chaska be just that. We need to have the resources necessary to be there for all our citizens and anticipate what people’s needs will be. We also need to maintain and upkeep those resources for our current citizens to continue to recognize Chaska for what it is, but also what it can be.
I believe having open meetings is a great start – which we have. I think our leaders can be more vocal on social media as well, since a large amount of people get their information in that way. Giving people the option of attending meetings, or getting information through more informal ways is a great way to be transparent and accountable.
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The League of Women Voters of Minnesota and North Dakota crafted the questions sent to the candidates in the Spring of 2024. They reached out to candidates based on contact information in their public candidate filings. Candidates with email addresses were invited and reminded with emails. Candidates with only mailing addresses were sent a letter. Candidates with phone numbers received a phone call as well.

Candidate responses are published as they responded and have not been edited, except when responses were longer than the given character limit. In those cases, the responses are truncated.

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