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

Hennepin County Park Commissioner District 5

This board operates as a separate regional park system outside of the city of Minneapolis. It manages large-scale natural resources, winter recreation areas, and extensive regional trail corridors throughout the rest of Hennepin County. Its seven-member board includes five commissioners elected from suburban districts and two appointed by the Hennepin County BoardIf your candidate didn’t fill in the guide below, visit the Secretary of State’s Candidate Filing site (https://candidates.sos.mn.gov/) to find contact info. If you reach out, ask candidates to complete their Vote411 Voters Guide from the LWVMN!

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  • Candidate picture

    John F Gibbs
    (NP)

  • Candidate picture

    Dan Rasmussen
    (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)

If elected, how will you balance competing interests, such as your own values and opinions, input from park staff and fellow board members, and diverse views from the community? (500 characters)

How would you ensure that all of our County facilities and parks are accessible to all members of our community? (500 characters)

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Three Rivers is a big part of my life and my family's life. I spend hundreds of hours and log thousands of miles in the parks and on the trails each year, cross-country skiing, mountain biking, running, biking and hiking. I'm also a husband and dad, and some of my favorite time in the parks is simply being outside with my wife and kids. Professionally, I'm a marketing leader with experience managing large budgets and bringing people together around complex decisions. I'd bring that experience and my perspective as a park user to the board, while listening to staff, residents and people who experience our parks differently than I do.
My priorities are protecting the natural spaces that make Three Rivers special, keeping parks and trails accessible and welcoming to everyone, and being responsible with taxpayer dollars. I want clean water and healthy habitat, well-maintained parks that people of different ages and abilities can enjoy, and smart investments that will serve people for decades. As a dad, I think a lot about what we're leaving behind for my daughter, my son and the generations that follow.
Three Rivers touches people's lives in more ways than they may realize, from regional parks and trails to thousands of acres of natural land. Commissioners make long-term decisions about those resources and the tax dollars that support them. I'd focus on maintaining what we have, improving important trail connections and access, protecting natural resources, and using partnerships and outside funding wisely.
I use Three Rivers a lot, but I know my experience isn't everyone's experience. I'll listen to residents, learn from park staff, look at the facts and work with other commissioners before making decisions. That includes listening to people whose needs or experiences may be very different from mine. I want my wife, my daughter, my son and every resident to feel like this park system is for them. A good commissioner should listen first and be willing to change his mind when the facts support it.
Accessibility means more than meeting a standard. We should think about how people of different ages, abilities, incomes and backgrounds actually experience our parks. That includes accessible trails and facilities, but also cost, transportation, equipment, safety and simply knowing what's available. Three Rivers is already doing good work in this area. I'd listen directly to people who face barriers, build on what's working and keep looking for ways to make our parks welcoming to everyone.
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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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