Michelle Clasen has over a decade of local government experience working with Minnesota counties in a variety of capacities, including business services, emergency management, environmental and water issues, parks and trails, elections, transportation, and affordable housing. She has a master’s degree in Public Administration from Hamline University and volunteers as a certified mentor of small businesses through SCORE.
Seeing unemployment climb during the COVID-19 crisis, Clasen will advocate for a recovery that invests in local businesses and workers. One such initiative is her long-standing support of Metro Transit’s Gold Line which she sees as an opportunity for more job creation, attraction, and retention in the area. She will work to stop zoning and siting practices that disproportionately place low-income communities and communities of color near sources of pollution.
On transitioning to homegrown clean energy:
“I brought the first solar panel project to the City of Falcon Heights, where we put solar panels on our city hall and created a solar garden outside of the city hall grounds. It was a supported project by the Council. The project was not only cost-effective, but it helped the city to gain renewable solar power and be energy independent. Bringing ideas, building relationships and keeping up on trends is something I’ve always done as a city leader. As your advocate, I will support similar solar panels on homes, businesses, government infrastructure and promote solar gardens. Currently, in the City of Woodbury, home associations are preventing solar panels due to aesthetic reasons. I would like to put in measures to not only prevent these types of restrictions but help to create a program to support these types of energy renewable sources.”