This was 42-year-old Hollies Winston second run for mayor of Brooklyn Park. The suburban city of approximately 85,000 nestled along the west bank of the Mississippi River, just north of Minneapolis. Ethnic Europeans join other populations as a minority group, due to the growing presence of West African diasporans along with East African, African American, Latino and Hmong communities. Their children comprise at least 80% of the student bodies in the public schools. Brooklyn Park City Council reflect that diversity with from the Vietnamese, European, Hmong, and African American members and the African American mayor making up the seven-member governing council.
One city council members won a seat in the state senate, so there will be a new position to fill sometimes in August.
According to Hollies, the mission at hand is “build a governing coalition with those members we have. The challenges are too many to ignore or to have decisions delayed,” he said.
Winston’s father was an attorney who was a vice-president at Northern States Power Company (today Xcel). His mother spent most of her career in corporate America, as well.
Al McFarlane opened the interview with Winston with the phrase “Two votes!”
Winston lost the 2018 election by two votes.
“Before November 8th, our community paid little attention to those special elections. We were a little surprised at the large voting turnout this time. I think what the city did was make it very clear that they wanted to go in a new direction. Crime was going up and it was like no one seemed to understand how serious the situation was. No one knew whether there was really a strategic plan for the city,” he said. “We also have an issue where property taxes disproportionately fall on the shoulders of homeowners in Brooklyn Park and that’s not something that can be sustained.”
Winston said his focus will be on attracting commercial anchors that can support and serve a viable economic, academic, and residential populace.
“Minneapolis is a business center. St. Paul is clearly the State Capitol but also a business center. Duluth has a harbor and is also a business center. Rochester has Mayo Clinic. Bloomington has the Mall of America, as well as the airport. And Brooklyn Park has???”
“A city of our size, needs something to permanently increase tax revenue. The best way to push back on the negatives is to address the problems with evidenced-based solutions guided by research and positive outcomes. That’s what I intend to do,” Winston said.
Winston said Huntington Park is a good example of progress. “This apartment complex has been in the news, and rightfully so. The residents are dealing with some real quality of life issues with mold and pests and a fragile infrastructure under duress. There are also serious criminal issues. They’ve started an organization called ‘The Village’, one that I actually helped to form,” he said.
“They are pushing back crime and slum landlords by getting the police to come to the location, isolate the issues, getting the residents to know and start to trust the police, and the police to get to know thew residents. I think we need to get more creative. Yes, we need funding, and it is available now. We all know about the state surplus. But we also need a plan. People are tired of the ups and downs like a roller coaster. The economy is doing better, but it’s not booming! I think if we lean into our diversity and some of the connections we have made, I believe we can discover new opportunities,” Winston said..
Winston said he will focus on crime and policing by learning who the major players are. “I know the names of the different department heads, their roles, and their responsibilities. I often interact with them. But the truth is I need to get in there and learn how things are going, what the culture is like on the inside, and begin to ask the right questions to shine a light on what we’ve decided needs to be changed. Education must be considered a top priority… educating the students, the parents, and the police.
He said adult residents must take the initiative to become informed as to what resources are available to them.
