Photo provided by Mike Walters
Photo provided by Mike Walters
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Ward: Ward 5

Official Bio:

Mike Walters is a husband and father of three living in Northeast Rochester. He works at Wintering Law Office as an attorney with seven years' experience in private practice and as a public defender. Born in Rochester, he graduated from Century High School and the University of Minnesota.

For six years, Mike has served on the Rochester Planning and Zoning Commission, which recently passed Rochester's first comprehensive plan in 40 years. He also serves on the Olmsted County Drug Court Team, working with individuals who strive to be healthy, productive members of the community. In 2016, Mike was elected president of the Olmsted County Bar Association, where he worked to reaffirm the culture of collegiality and cooperation in Rochester's legal community. He has also given his time to Legal Assistance of Olmsted County, the Rochester Zoning Board of Appeals, RNeighbors, and St John's Church.

In his free time, Mike enjoys being with his family, coaching his daughter's soccer team, and playing on the Rochester Rogues rugby team. Mike's wife, Jaclyn, works at ABC & Toy Zone, and together they keep a welcoming home in the Quarry Hill Neighborhood.

Your key platforms 

I am standing for election because Rochester gave me everything. And I want to be a part of passing that blessing forward to the next generation of Rochester families. Years of volunteering in city government has shown me that ordinary people can impact their own quality of life.

To that end, our campaign believes in:

A Comprehensive Approach to Public Safety. Safety means effective police, but it also means much more than that. It means safe street design so that parents can confidently let their kids walk to school. It means smart eyes-on-the-street design of our parks and public buildings. And it means a focus on public health for all.

Accessible and Transparent Government. The most fundamental duty of a city government is to ensure that local citizens can participate and meaningfully influence the policies that affect us. City business should be conducted where the people can see it, both in person and online. Money spent from the public purse should be accountable to, an accounted by, the ordinary people who fund the public purse. And citizen commissions should be respected and strengthened as a vital tool in our local government.

Affordability and a Rochester for All. The policy challenge of our time is whether this city will provide the same opportunities to the next generation as it provided to the last. We must take a comprehensive approach to housing. And we must recognize Rochester faces a child-care shortage that is limiting the potential of families with children. There are tools in the city’s kit that can help to meet these needs. Ordinary people, working together, will address these challenges.

Why should your ward vote for you?

I seek your vote on August 14th because I hold to the values and principles that prevail in Ward 5. I believe in transparency and the obligation of council members to remain accessible to the people of the ward.

What do you envision for the future of Rochester?

I want to see a Rochester that works for everyone. I want to see seniors able to access their community institutions. I want to see families with children be able to provide their kids with the same benefits that I had growing up here. And I want to see our neighborhoods as healthy centers of living, not merely as appendages of downtown.

To achieve this, I believe we need to think long term. It is not enough to pursue economic growth over the next three-to-five years. We need to think about how our decisions affect future generations.

What are your connections to The Mayo Clinic? How do you plan to work with The Mayo Clinic?

I am in the odd position that I grew up in Rochester with no direct family connections to Mayo or IBM. I still have no official connection to the Mayo Clinic. In my volunteer roles on the planning commission and in the Olmsted Bar Association, I have worked productively with Mayo employees.

I believe that we should respect Mayo's unique position in our community, while I am also mindful we should support small business as well since economic diversity benefits us all.

What are your connections to the DMC? How do you plan to work with the DMC?

I have no connection to the Destination Medical Center.

I want to see DMC work in ways that benefit the entire city, including the neighborhoods. In talking with people throughout the ward, I have heard time and again from people who feel, "This growth isn't meant for me or my family." The city can re-build public confidence by showing that DMC isn't just about new hotels. It can be, and ought to be, about health for residents and visitors of all ages.

How would you address the concerns of citizens about the loss of some of the city's older and potentially historic buildings to new development?

I have a deep affection for our past. I grew up on stories of Rochester's past. And to this day, I stubbornly refer to Rochester as "the Queen City", which was our nickname for a hundred and twenty years before a local TV station began promoting "med city".

Our preservation ordinances remain a work in progress. And we must be mindful of private property rights as we seek to preserve our past. But there are a few things we can do:

We should be careful in how we dispose of public lands. There are quite a few areas around town that are already public property, and where appropriate, these can be used to preserve our history without worrying about private property. Recent council action on using the Rochester Armory is a great example of preserving our history while benefiting our future. And we should respect the work of our citizen commissions and be sure that our ordinances give them clear guidance. Citizen commissions are an important tool in keeping government accessible to the people.

Favorite Rochester Moment?

Running through the caves as a kid during Quarry Hill summer camp.

What’s one thing you want the Rochester community to know about you?

I want everyone to know that I am mindful that we all face similar struggles. All of us want to see our families healthy and safe, and all of us face stresses in our lives. I will always diligently endeavor to remember the humanity of those around me, irrespective whether we agree on a particular issue.

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