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Anoka County Board,
District 6
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Julie Jeppson:
Highway 65 is
top issue
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Adapted from the Minneapolis Labor Review, October 22, 2022
By Steve Share, Minneapolis Labor Review editor
BLAINE — “I really felt if I wanted to see change, I needed to do something,” says Julie Jeppson.
Jeppson is running with AFL-CIO endorsement for the District 6 seat on the Anoka County Board. District 6 includes Blaine and part of Spring Lake Park.
The incumbent, Robyn West, is not running and the seat is an open seat.
Jeppson currently is in her second term as a member of the Blaine City Council.
During her time on the City Council, she says, her main focus has been working for road improvements, with a special focus on Highway 65. She played a leadership role in helping to secure $30 million for the intersection of 99th Ave. and Hwy. 65 and went to Washington, D.C. to lobby for additional funds. “Focusing our attention and energy, we have done more than anyone in the past 20 years,” she says.
In doorknocking, Jeppson says, Hwy. 65 is the biggest issue voters raise.
Jeppson says an important role for elected officials is maintaining public infrastructure. “You need to spend money in order to maintain your investments, your assets.” If not, she says, “the bill will come eventually” with even more costly repairs. What’s best for taxpayers, she says, is planned spending on infrastructure over time.
“Unions are the backbone of our community,” Jeppson says. “They absolutely have my utmost respect… They’re the ones building the buildings, building the roads, plowing the streets.”
Jeppson has been a Blaine resident since 2004. She and husband Nate have two children.
She previously served as development director and then executive director of Stepping Stone, an Anoka nonprofit which provides emergency housing for the homeless and services to move clients to self-sufficiency.
Website:jeppsonforcommissioner.com
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