2024 Chanhassen City Council Candidate
“… as someone who has been working in education for the last few years, I have learned many lessons when it comes to prioritizing not only the needs of a few but also the needs of the group as a whole. If you focus on one small issue or one child, the rest of the class will suffer finding that balance where you can help everyone shine to their fullest. That is what I want to bring into the chambers here in Chanhassen.”
— Andrew Soudbash
Name: Andrew E Soudbash
Email address: Andrew.soudbash@gmail.com
Home community and how long have you lived in your community:
Chanhassen is my hometown! Lived here all my life live many.
Previous leadership experience:
None
In what community, state, or national organizations have you been involved?
BSA, Environmental advocacy clubs.
How have you prepared to serve well in this office:
By allocating both time and resources to be able to listen and champion every citizen of Chanhassen!
What do you view as the three top priorities for the City and how would you address these?
Honestly, there are so many ideas for improving our city brought to me by the residents of Chanhassen every day that it’s impossible to choose just three. There is obvious Fiscal spending, mass deforestation, and a lack of safe bike trails. But what I think is most important right now for Chanhassen to grow as a city is not what I can bring to the table but what we all can. For too many years we have had a glaring lack of communication between the citizens of Chanhassen and the actual council members supposed to represent them. My main goal which I believe is more important than all others right now is communication between the citizens and the members elected. After all the only reason they were elected in the first place was to help you the citizens not themselves by injecting their personal agendas and priorities.
What differentiates you from the other candidate(s)?
Let me start by saying as someone who has been working in education for the last few years, I have learned many lessons when it comes to prioritizing not only the needs of a few but also the needs of the group as a whole. If you focus on one small issue or one child, the rest of the class will suffer finding that balance where you can help everyone shine to their fullest. That is what I want to bring into the chambers here in Chanhassen. On top of this, I feel it’s important to note that I am significantly younger than not only the other candidates but also the other members of the council, this age difference can provide valuable insight into future generations required for future development in town.
How would you plan to balance growth and development while maintaining the character of the city?
This has been a significant issue I have been hearing over the last few years as Chanhassen has started to modernize, many people have been saying Chanhassen, over the previous few years, no longer feels quite like it used to. To me, Chanhassen has always been a safe place to walk around and visit family-owned businesses where you can walk in and talk to the owner who has worked there for 30 years. Because of this, I plan to prioritize the growth of local businesses over corporate ones.
What is your approach to managing the city’s budget and fiscal priorities?
This has been on my mind for many months now I feel improving fiscal spending and making sure we build assets that are both visually stunning and last the test of time lowering upkeep reducing overall expenditures in the long run.
What measures, if any, should the city pursue to create more affordable housing for the workforce (including young teachers, police officers, health-care workers) and for seniors on limited incomes?
As someone who works in the education field, I can respect wanting to improve living conditions for teachers and entice apartment companies to move into Chanhassen. however, once again, I want to give local businesses a chance first and foremost, and most important I want the housing to be affordable. now if this means we need to build these in locations that have cheaper taxation policies to reduce overall cost, this might be something we can all talk about as a city if it’s something we wish to move forward on.
What, if anything, should the city do to provide additional or improved activities, shopping, dining, recreation, and parks?
As someone who grew up riding the trails and bike paths of Chanhassen and Excelsior, I can say Chanhassen might need some improvement. We have always been a great city for entertainment outdoors through parks and walking trails. however, lately, people have been asking for more bike trails, and possible bike lanes on roads to reduce the number of bike-related accidents over the past few years. Other than this I think keeping and maintaining our many parks for the youth of Chanhassen to enjoy as they grow is important for childhood development and by installing more paths for biking we only continue to improve the development of our youth as the years continue.
If a competitive business climate is important to you, what should the city do to remove barriers so that businesses can move into the city and current businesses can grow?
As I have stated in the past I believe giving Chanhassen residents the chance to grow their dream businesses is more important than corporate ones.
What, if anything, should the city do to increase transparency?
So, this is the main point of my campaign. Anyone, if they want, can go onto the Chanhassen website and see what the council is up to. however, what I am asking is as follows, is the council doing what the residents want? Well like many over the last few years you may have felt like there’s all this transparency but it’s all one-sided. it’s like listening to a radio broadcast when it should be more like a conversation. That is my promise to the residents of Chanhassen, to bring your voice back to the council chamber, bring the issues you want to be solved to light, and keep the chambers a place for everyone to be a part of. After all, it is our job as council members to work for you the people.
Where do you envision the city in the next five to 10 years?
I hope that in five years this city will be a beacon across Minnesota as the city that isn’t to their people and through this we will not only be re-awarded the best city to live in the US but we will also feel like it too. I hope that one day the lessons and groundwork we leave behind over the next four years will set a precedent for all future council members and the mayor in Chanhassen for not only 5-10 years but for the next 100 years. And in doing so inspire future generations to not only vote, but stand up for what they believe in. With this, I hope to count on your vote come November. Have a wonderful fall and see you on election day folks!
