My Interview With Eva Ng
This afternoon, I had the pleasure of interviewing St. Paul Mayoral candidate Eva Ng. It's safe to say that she's a fiscal conservative and someone who's willing to work hard to stay in touch with St. Paul residents.
Her agenda of watching each line item like a hawk is a stark contrast with Chris Coleman's irresponsible spending habits.
One think that impressed me was her commitment to lobbying the legislature to improve the business climate in Minnesota:
EVA NG: The state has much influence in the City's fate. I have asked for a permanent seat at the House Caucus. And I don't intend to hire someone else to do that job. I will do it myself.
During the interview, it was apparent that Ms. Ng's first and highest priority will be to recruit new jobs to St. Paul. Here's what she said on that subject:
GARY: What is your plan to revitalize St. Paul?
EVA NG, Candidate for St. Paul Mayor: My plan to revitalize St. Paul begins with freezing tax and fee rates. Then work to reduce them. I will have to put successful organizational structures in each City Hall Department to cultivate efficiency. Then, I will have to expand our tax base.
GARY: That's an ambitious plan. How do you plan to rally the people of St. Paul to support this plan?
EVA NG: Gary, nothing is ever easy. Everything takes work and persuasion. I plan to start a New Enterprise Incubation Center in St. Paul to sow seeds for new upstarts. I also want to form at least two volunteer delegations to target suitable businesses to call St Paul home.
The situation in St. Paul is grim. Ms. Ng states the case well with this set of statistics:
EVA NG: Citizens of Saint Paul, we face a time of economic uncertainty, unemployment rates approaching 10%, businesses fleeing, and residents leaving. As a result, we have nearly 30% office space vacancies downtown, an estimated 2,400 to 4000 foreclosed or abandoned homes, and a much heavier tax and fee burden on each resident and commercial entity.
Putting St. Paul on the right track is a Herculean task, one that won't be righted overnight. It's important that St. Paul corrects the mistakes of the Coleman administration ASAP. It's time that St. Paul elects a leader whose first priority is putting St. Paul back to work. Now isn't the time for them to elect someone whose heart isn't into making the difficult decisions and setting the right priorities.
Follow this link to contribute to Eva's campaign. If you want to bring change you can be proud of to St. Paul, I strongly encourage you to make a contribution to Eva's campaign.
It's time for St. Paul to give Chris Coleman the time he needs to ponder his future. It isn't the time to tolerate the irresponsible status quo that Mayor Coleman represents.
Check back here later for the full transcript of the interview.
Comments welcome at LFR.
Share this post
