Biographic information. Tell us about yourself.
In 2020, I was elected to serve as Shorewood’s Mayor. I am running for reelection because I have enjoyed serving residents as Mayor these past four years.
I am an attorney and I’ve been licensed to practice law in Minnesota for over 25 years. I received my Juris Doctorate from the University of Akron and my Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse.
I am a 14 year resident of Shorewood; for the past 12 years, I have served Shorewood residents in various roles Before I was elected as Shorewood’s Mayor, I served Shorewood residents on Shorewood’s City Council for 6 years and on the Planning Commission for 2 years. I am the Chair of the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department (SLMPD) Coordinating Committee and the Former Vice-Chair of the Excelsior Fire District (EFD) Board.
At the state level, I am the Vice President of the Minnesota Mayors Association and a member of the Regional Council of Mayors. I have also served on the League of Minnesota Cities Human Resources and Data Practices Committee. At the federal level, in March 2023, I was honored to represent the City of Shorewood at the White House at a meeting entitled “Building a Better Minnesota.”
Frequently, I volunteer at events in our community. I am a member of the Lake Minnetonka Excelsior Morning Rotary Club and I’ve been a Girl Scout troop leader for over 14 years.
I am the Mom of three children who all attended Minnewashta Elementary, in Shorewood; two of my children attend Minnetonka High School and one attends Arizona State University.
A former collegiate track athlete, a former NCAA National Champion, and a former triathlete, I love sports and working out. Also, I enjoy anything and everything involving Lake Minnetonka including stand up paddle boarding, fishing, boating, kayaking, swimming, wake surfing, and even ice skating in the winter.
Describe the skills you have that will make you a good Shorewood councilmember.
Experience. There is no course or book that teaches you “how to be a mayor.” You learn this over time by participating in and being involved with the city and the council that you are leading. For 8 years, before I ran for Mayor in 2020, I participated in various roles with the City of Shorewood. Over these 8 years, I learned how to be a mayor through this active participation in local government, by meeting frequently with residents to learn their concerns, by meeting frequently with the city staff department heads to learn the unique nuances of our city, and by forming mentorships with councilmembers and mayors from Shorewood and the surrounding cities.
As former prosecutor, I’ve dealt with many high stress situations. Council meetings can also be stressful; the mayor must be able to guide the meeting through these moments and keep the meeting on track. As Shorewood’s Mayor these past four years, I have done exactly that.
How have you demonstrated those skills in the past?
For over 12 years I have demonstrated these skills by showing up, by participating, by making difficult decisions and by leading council meetings. I regularly meet with residents to discuss their concerns and I make myself available to the residents through my active participation and volunteerism at community events. I have also increased resident participation in our city government by encouraging the implementation of open houses on various topics.
The Shorewood Mayor and the mayors of our neighboring cities must all work together, especially since we share police and fire departments. For 12 years, I have worked with the mayors of our neighboring cities and the Chiefs of our South Lake Minnetonka Police Department (SLMPD) and Excelsior Fire District (EFD); continuing these established relationships is beneficial to Shorewood.
A mayor should be engaged and involved in their community. Locally, I belong to the Lake Minnetonka Excelsior Morning Rotary Club and I am a Girl Scout troop leader. At a state-level, I have increased the visibility of Shorewood through my participation in organizations such as the Minnesota Mayor’s Association and the Regional Council of Mayors. Mayors and council members must love their city and be willing to work hard to make their city the best that it can be; I have worked hard for Shorewood residents for over 12 years!
If elected you will serve for 4 years. What do you see as the top 5 challenges or opportunities for the council to address during that time?
1) Continuing to improve communication with residents. I am committed to keeping Shorewood residents informed. While I’ve served as your mayor these past four years, I supported new ways to keep residents informed and engaged in our city including:
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- offering open houses regarding upcoming road projects which gave residents a forum to interact directly with the city staff and the city council.
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- hosting Shorewood’s first Budget Open House where the city sought resident input regarding the upcoming 2025 budget.
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- encouraging the city to assist with two volunteer buckthorn clean up events in Shorewood’s Freeman Park, that were initiated & lead by Shorewood residents.
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- approving the new style of our more user friendly city website.
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- committing to the new format of our Shore Report newsletter, which reaches every household in Shorewood.
- committing to the new format of our Shore Report newsletter, which reaches every household in Shorewood.
2) Advocating for Safety Improvements to Highway 7 Residents of Shorewood and the surrounding communities are concerned about the number of accidents on Highway 7. As your Mayor, I have testified numerous times before both the House and Senate Transportation Committees seeking funding for more immediate Highway 7 safety improvements. I have worked closely with our State Senator Kelly Morrison (DFL) and House Representatives Parry Acomb (DFL), Lucy Rehm (DFL), and Andrew Myers (R). Continuing the positive momentum that I have gained through these relationships, and through my Highway 7 safety advocacy is beneficial to Shorewood. When re-elected, I will not stop advocating for Highway 7 safety improvements.
3) Reviewing Shorewood’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) Each year, the Shorewood City Council adopts a 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). This CIP details major upcoming or potential capital improvements and the intended sources to pay for these improvements. The CIP provides an estimate of the timing and an estimated cost of future capital improvement projects. The council reviews capital spending throughout the year because the CIP is both modifiable and fluid; items in the CIP are not mandated. Staying on top of our CIP and modifying it as needs arise is a responsible was to ensure that improvements are made based on long term budgetary and capital needs.
4) Continuing our infrastructure maintenance and park improvements Our roads and infrastructure are aging and the population of Shorewood is growing. Residents ask about Shorewood’s plans to continue making infrastructure improvements, including installing water lines. Shorewood is repairing and maintaining its’ aging infrastructure at a gradual, fiscally responsible, pace. When a road is slated for major improvements, the city also determines if the road should be widened, whether the installation of a curb and gutter is necessary, whether a sidewalk is desired, and whether city water lines should be installed. Numerous large infrastructure projects that began years before I became Mayor were either recently finished or are nearing completion. These projects will benefit Shorewood residents for generations.
Shorewood is now entering into an infrastructure mill and overlay, or maintenance, phase which will be cheaper and less disruptive to residents. Regular, preventative maintenance is the most cost-effective approach to optimize the lifespan of Shorewood’s roads and infrastructure. As Mayor, I will ensure that Shorewood continues with regular, scheduled road maintenance and continues to seek grants and funding from the legislature, whenever possible, to help offset these costs.
Continuing to invest in our city parks will not only preserve the natural beauty of our parks but will provided residents with improved, modern amenities and equipment. As Shorewood has made capital improvements to our parks, we took the steps to ensure that these improvements were ADA compliant and benefited residents of all ages and abilities. These types of improvements will continue.
5) Maintaining Strong Police and Fire Departments A former prosecutor, I worked closely with local law enforcement agencies. I now work with our South Lake Minnetonka Police Department and our Excelsior Fire District. I supported both chiefs as they restructured their departments. Annually, I thoroughly analyze their department budgets and their Joint Power Agreements, the governing documents for these agencies. This oversight and my strong working relationship with both chiefs will help ensure Shorewood’s positive relationship with both the SLMPD and the EFD.
What policies would you propose to address your priorities? Be specific.
The Mayor, like every councilmember, has one vote on every issue. Every issue is decided by a majority vote. Since we do not have a ward-based council, every councilmember and the mayor represent the entire city. I will continue to work with residents to ensure that I am voting on issues in a way that best represents the majority of the residents in our city.
This year’s budget open house and the road project open houses provided residents with a way to connect with council and staff. Although our first attempt at a public open house was not smooth, Shorewood did not back down from this approach and the process got better with each subsequent open house. Continuing to hold open houses relating to the budget and infrastructure projects will ensure that these projects and the budget stay on track and that resident concerns are addressed at the planning stages of the project and budget process.
I will continue to work with our neighboring cities and with our state leaders to advocate for more immediate safety improvements to Highway 7.
Both the SLMPD and the EFD are governed by Joint Power Agreements (JPA’s). Our SLMPD and EFD budgets and the JPA’s of these agencies are reviewed with scrutiny annually. This must continue in the future.
You are asking to represent the citizens of Shorewood and if elected, will be one of the public faces of the city. How would you describe the top 3 things about Shorewood that makes it a great place to live?
- Safety & low crime. We are a safe community due in part to our engaged members of the SLMPD and the EFD. Our first responders embrace the theory of community-oriented policing and protection. This is evidenced the first responders community engagement in annual events such as the EFD Open House, the South Lake Safety Camp, the SLMPD Citizen’s Academy, Night to Unite, and by simply being actively engaged with community residents. Shorewood not only partners with our first responders at community events, the city council also reviews the budgets of our SLMPD and the EFD annually.
- Beautiful parks & lakes. There are many beautiful lakes and parks in Shorewood. The city has taken great strides to not only preserve the natural beauty of our parks but to continually make improvements to our parks in a fiscally sound manner. We routinely partner with and seek advice from outside agencies such as the Three Rivers Parks District, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the University of Minnesota to ensure that our parks and the improvements that we make to our parks benefit residents of all ages and abilities.
- Amazing schools. As your mayor, I regularly attend meetings with the Superintendent of the Minnetonka Public School District. Minnewashta Elementary, the largest elementary school in the Minnetonka School District, is located in Shorewood; it is beneficial to all area residents for the city and the school district to have a positive relationship with each other. Working together and communicating with the school district about city road projects, city events and the school district calendar helps both the school and the city communicate with residents and school district families with accuracy.
What sets you apart from the other candidates?
Experience. Proven local leadership. Community involvement. It is easy to criticize others but people who role up their sleeves, volunteer their service to others and contribute to their community are true leaders. I have served Shorewood residents in different roles for 12+ years, including these past four years as mayor serving on city council and serving on the planning commission.
I work closely with our police and fire departments; I was on the panel that interviewed and selected both the current SLMPD and the current EFD Chiefs. I am the chair of the South Lake Minnetonka Police Department Coordinating Committee, Vice President of the Minnesota Mayor’s Association and a member of the Regional Council of Mayors. I formerly served as the Vice Chair of the Excelsior Fire District Board. I volunteer at community events and I am a member of the Lake Minnetonka Excelsior Rotary Club.
Being the mayor of a small city is challenging. It can be difficult to make decisions that impact your neighbors; yet, the council and mayor make these decisions at every meeting. The mayor conducts the meeting and must maintain order during heated discussions. I have done this successfully for four years. Experience matters.
Candidate website: https://jenformayor.com/
