The Secretary of State has only two jobs officially - run elections and register corporations. Those are important and must be done well, but we should get a lot more from an elected leader. Citizens are increasingly cynical and disengaged from the electoral process and participation in governance. Minnesota needs a Secretary of State who will make citizen engagement in all its forms - in-person, on-line, and through the media - the top priority of the office. Engagement produces better results.

Joel Spoonheim has focused his career on making democracy work by engaging people in assuring that their communities and organizations can deliver better results for those they serve. He is currently the Economic & Redevelopment Director for the City of Brooklyn Park, where he is helping lead that city's revitalization efforts. This ranges from helping small businesses and residents work together on community-sensitive redevelopment to being a key member of the team negotiating the Target corporate campus deal - one of the largest economic development projects in the state's history. He is also a co-founder of Civics Connection, an organization committed to building the next generation of civic leaders. Over the past ten years, Joel has coached and trained emerging leaders and has even taught workshops on democracy in Bosnia. As Minnesota's next Secretary of State, Joel will be the state's champion for democracy & citizen engagement.

With one team and one agenda, Minnesotans will get the results they want and pay for.

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