Dear Residents,
My name is Dan Louismet and I am running for City Council in Ward 1. My wife, Molly, grew up in White Bear Township, though I try not to hold that against her. We are expecting our first child in January. If all goes according to plan, he or she will one day attend Lincoln Elementary School; the same elementary school I attended and my father before me. I completed my undergraduat
e studies at the University of Minnesota where I majored in political science. During my senior year, I completed a semester long unpaid internship at City Hall. It was during this time that I developed a passion for local government and really began learning about the inner-working of city government. My duties as an intern ranged from the more mundane tasks like taking pictures for the City’s website, to the more serious and important tasks such as helping select the City’s trash and recycling service provider. I learned a great deal during this internship and established a solid foundation of knowledge relevant to serving on the City Council. After college, I attended law school at William Mitchell College of Law. Following my first year of law school, I began working for the League of Minnesota Cities as a law clerk. There, I assisted in defending cities against lawsuits, which were often frivolous, brought by Plaintiffs that sought to make a quick buck off of the taxpayers. My time at the League of Minnesota Cities provided me with the requisite experience necessary for governing with an eye toward avoiding litigation and the expense that goes with it. During my final year in law school, I had the great privilege of completing a clinic with the White Bear Lake Prosecutor’s office. I prosecuted many civil and criminal violations ranging from petty misdemeanor speeding tickets, to gross-misdemeanor DWIs. This experience afforded me the opportunity to work with the many White Bear Lake police officers who do such a great job keeping our community safe. Our police department does an outstanding job justly enforcing the law and I was proud to work with the department. I currently practice law at a small private firm in Northeast Minneapolis. I specialize in municipal law, civil litigation defense, and labor and employment law. Much of what I do on any given day is advice local government on the numerous legal issues a City must consider when conducting its business and the nuances unique to local government. Since 2013, I have served on the White Bear Lake Park Advisory Commission. This is a volunteer position charged with advising the city council regarding the maintenance and improvement of our city parks. While I have enjoyed the time I have served on the Park Commission, I would like to extend that service to all decisions and issues that affect our city. I do not have a platform or agenda I wish to advance. Rather, my goal, should you choose to elect me, is to draw upon my experience in local government, deep roots in the community, and a healthy dose of common sense, to preserve our great City. Rather than offer you a list of promises, I will offer you this one campaign pledge. If elected, I will always be responsive to the residents of Ward 1. If a resident has an opinion, issue, or complaint regarding City services or an issue before the council, the lines of communication will always remain open so that those concerns are heard and raised at the proper forum. In closing, I would like to add that I plan to conduct my campaign in much the same manner that I will govern: with common sense, hard work, and fiscally conservative principles. To that end, I will run a humble campaign focused largely on door-knocking and genuine in-person interactions with members of the community. I will not hold a fundraiser or otherwise solicit campaign funds from anyone, either inside or outside of Ward 1. A local campaign, in a city the size of White Bear Lake, should be a simple, honest, and self-funded endeavor; win or lose, my campaign will be just that. Thank you for taking the time to consider my candidacy for White Bear Lake City Council, Ward 1. I respectfully ask for your vote on November 3rd. Regards,
Dan Louismet
