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.
  • Build your ballot before voting. Print or email the information to use as a reference when you actually vote.

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Voter Guide

Crystal City Mayor

The mayor is usually the head of the city and may represent the city in front of other government bodies. They also can preside at council meetings and appoint city workers. A mayor usually has a role in proposing a city budget which influences services provided to residents and can veto ordinances proposed by the city council.Voting in local elections is important - learn more here: Why Vote for MayorA candidate forum for this race is available at https://reflect-ccx.cablecast.tv/CablecastPublicSite/show/35186?site=10. More MN forums are available at https://www.lwvmn.org/2024-candidate-forums.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.

  • Candidate picture

    Rachel Braaten
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Julie Deshler
    (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)

If elected, what strategies will you use to ensure transparency, accountability and ethical conduct in city government under your leadership? (500 characters)

How will you engage with residents to solicit feedback, involve them in decision-making processes, and ensure their voices are heard? (500 characters)

How will you approach public safety and community policing to ensure the well-being of all residents? (500 characters)

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Campaign Website http://rachelformayor.org
Contact Phone 7014912777
Campaign Email braaten.rachel@gmail.com
I believe my values closely reflect the values of the residents of Crystal. We want to see the city making more fiscally conservative decisions. I know that there are valuable members of our community getting priced out of their homes, which is a tragedy especially when it could be prevented. We want the city to take the environment into consideration more. Residents are concerned about plastic pollution, species loss, and climate change. We want to see more diverse voices within city government which will more closely reflect the diversity in our city.
My number one priority for Crystal is to decrease spending. I know there are valuable members of our community who are getting priced out of their homes due to property tax increases, and we all benefit if they can stay in their homes. Second, I want to inject environmental responsibility into city government decisions because environmental issues affect us all. Thirdly, I want to be a mayor who is welcoming and encouraging when new voices come forward in order to increase involvement.
My campaign has been an indicator for how I would ensure transparency. I have been going door to door talking with voters about my plans and listening to their thoughts and concerns. I encourage any members of the community to come forward to hold myself and the city council accountable if we’re not following through with plans. I believe that if a council member or myself has a financial incentive in a vote, they should be recused from the conversation.
I am passionate about grassroots democracy and I plan to hold regular open meetings, inviting the public to attend listening sessions and give feedback. I am also planning to experiment with door knocking in neighborhoods that will be impacted by decisions. When a member of the community comes before the city council, I will make sure to THANK them, even if I disagree with what they are saying.
Since I began my campaign in early May, I have spoken with hundreds of residents of Crystal, so I can say definitively that #1 The people of Crystal feel safe in their neighborhoods. #2 The people of Crystal trust our police. #3 The people of Crystal have overwhelmingly had positive experiences with our police. Whatever they’re doing, we should let them keep doing it, and I believe that the region’s PD’s could benefit from training from our PD, which could be a revenue source as well.
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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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