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.

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Voter Guide

Washington County Soil and Water Supervisor District 1

SWCDs are local units of government that manage and direct natural resource management programs. Districts work in both urban and rural settings, with landowners and with other units of government, to carry out actions for the conservation of soil, water, and related natural resources. They are subject to state statutes and rules as a public body.

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  • Candidate picture

    Matt Lindholm
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Karen Schik
    (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 is this office important to constituents? Please provide details of any plans for improvement. (500 characters)

How should this office provide oversight for how climate change is affecting our community watersheds, and what can be done to prevent adverse effects on local communities? (500 characters)

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I have a relevant set of skills, experiences, and attitudes that uniquely qualify me to serve as a Soil and Water District Supervisor.

I have professional experience in cartography, environmental consulting, education administration, and city planning/code enforcement. For 5 years of city work, I had to enforce codes that impacted soil/water and people. I saw how over-regulation can hurt citizens and how under-regulation hurts the environment. Thus, I seek balanced solutions that are sustainable yet common sense. Balanced approaches are a rarity in an ever polarizing political landscape.
SWCD oversees natural resources on private land, promotes sustainable management, collaborates with landowners, providing education.

-Ensure responsible allocation of county funds/resources. -Balance private property rights/environmental protection through what I call Green Stewardship (environmentally/fiscally friendly). -Promote erosion/stormwater management practices.

…residents' concerns given to me. Elected officials must prioritize residents' concerns and represent their best interests.
The board has authority/responsibilities granted by the state that affect constituents through resource surveys, conservation projects, erosion prevention, property acquisition, and more. They can also seek grants, acquire land, request compensation, apply for federal aid, and present annual budgets. Accountability is crucial for the board, like any level of government. I plan to raise awareness of the board's existence and its extent of authority among the 275,000 residents of Washington County
I do not believe it is the Board's role to provide oversight per se for how climate change affects our local watersheds. Instead of being a bureaucratic oversight committee, I see this board as a collection of individuals, representing their regions of Washington County, providing science-based information to help educate the public and improve the environment.
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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.

VOTE411 is brought to you by the League of Women Voters Education Fund and League of Women Voters of Minnesota Education Fund. The League of Women Voters does not support or oppose any political party or candidate for office.