Matt Little to run for mayor of Lakeville
Council member cites leadership, objectivity as hallmarks of his style
by Aaron Vehling
Thisweek Newspapers
The election season for mayor of Lakeville has officially kicked off: Council Member Matt Little has entered the race.
He will take on Mayor Mark Bellows, who has said he will run next year for re-election.
Council Member Matt Little
“Lakeville needs leadership that is accessible, available and reliable,” Little said, “but it also needs a leader who is objective on the issues.”
In some circles, Little has been criticized for his use of social media in meetings to communicate with the public. He said these methods are part of what make him a transparent, accessible council member.
“I’m readily available, whether it is through new modes of communication like Twitter or Facebook, or at community events and responding to letters from constituents,” he said.
Little was elected in 2010. He referred to three major policy successes during the past year that have “made the quality of life better in Lakeville.”
The first was suggesting the hiring of two part-time administrative staff members to help keep police officers on the streets and away from the dictation machine.
This “bolsters public safety,” he said.
In April, Little offered to donate half his council salary (more than $4,300) to help pay for those positions. A donation to the city requires a four-fifths vote, but the move was only able to achieve three votes out of five members.
Another success Little cites is his advocacy for the Heritage Center, to be shared by the Senior Center, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, and Lakeville Area Historical Society, in the old police department on Holyoke Avenue. It is scheduled to open in fall 2012.
During his campaign for council last year, Little emphasized the importance of maintaining high-quality infrastructure. He said he kept that promise.
“When previous councils put off road repairs, I was able to obtain a unanimous vote on an aggressive plan to get the work done,” he said. “All this was accomplished together with a tax levy decrease.”
The drive for Little to run for mayor extended beyond the confines of himself.
“This is something people have asked me to do,” he said.
Continuing the transparency theme, Little said he has been an active advocate for opening up government to the masses.
He helped members of the Highview Heights neighborhood advocate for the reopening of their ice rink, which the council voted to do recently.
Little said he helped residents of a neighborhood on Flagstaff Avenue achieve traffic-calming measures.
“We knocked on doors up and down Flagstaff to garner support,” he said.
In terms of other community involvement, Little was named Lion of the Year last year by the Lions Club and is involved in the Lakeville Resource Center, a local food shelf.
“When the 360 Communities food shelf moved out of downtown due to budgetary problems, I organized the former volunteers and partnered with the Eagan Resource Center to fill the need,” Little said. “The new Lakeville Resource Center has served over 550 different households.”
Little and Bellows have clashed since the beginning of the year over a number of issues, including the Heritage Center, the municipal liquor store study and the creation of the Finance Committee.
During the height of the Heritage Center debates this past spring and summer, Bellows took issue with Little’s approach to advocating for the project, which included referring to Bellows as “opposition.”
“He’s politicizing and pandering to seniors,” Bellows said. “What he’s done is create an incredible division among the council.”
Little has argued that his approach has been to research every issue as comprehensively as possible and make decisions based on the data.
Among the issues Little said he would pursue as mayor is to attract more well-paying jobs to Lakeville. He said too much attention has been paid to the missed opportunity of Costco and not enough attention has been paid to “jobs that can sustain households.”
“Lakeville is highly educated,” he said, “so we should be pursuing high-tech jobs.”
In Lakeville, council members serve four-year terms and mayors serve two-year terms.
If Little were to lose the mayoral race next year, he would retain his council seat for the remainder of his term. If he were to win, the council would appoint his replacement.
Aaron Vehling is at aaron.vehling@ecm-inc.com and www.facebook.com/thisweeklive.
