Maplewood council hopeful Jenny Schmidt

Three Maplewood residents have now picked up petitions to run for the Ward 3 city council seat that will open up when council member Barry Greenberg becomes mayor. Jenny Schmidt is one of those hoping to serve on the council. She has sent in this information about herself:

My name is Jenny Schmidt and I am a 12-and-a-half-year resident of Maplewood with a law office located in downtown Maplewood. I am a sole practitioner who represents investors in historic rehabilitation projects utilizing state historic tax credits.  Prior to becoming a lawyer, I was an AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer, worked in the field of social work, was a substitute teacher in the City of Chicago, and was a legal assistant in a small law firm.  I have two daughters, Lucy (9) and Beatrice (6), who attend MRH Schools. I have coached my daughter’s MRH soccer team for the last three years and I also enjoy volunteering at school and PTO activities when possible. My husband Adam currently works in tech support at Square, Inc. and immediately before that was a stay at home dad to our two daughters.

I have loved watching the way that Maplewood has grown and prospered over last 12 years, so much so that I even moved my office to Maplewood a year and a half ago. I enjoy walking around my community and seeing friendly faces and stopping to chat. It truly is like living in a small town with all of the benefits of living in a city. However, what I love most, the thing that has kept me here all of these years, is the diversity of ideas and people that live in Maplewood and seeing how much this diversity is valued and embraced by many of my neighbors.

While I have always been interested in politics, what I am truly passionate about is helping others. A role on the city council would allow me to fulfill that passion in a community I love. I would embrace the opportunity to provide another female voice on the City Council and work to make positive change so that through its continued growth, Maplewood doesn’t lose the diversity of people and ideas that I value.  Some of the issues I would love the opportunity to work on are:

• Supporting the continued growth of the unique and independent shops and restaurants that make Maplewood the destination city it is without losing the small-town character that makes Maplewood such a special place to live.
• Supporting the school system in its need to meet the rapidly growing student population in a way that doesn’t displace existing Maplewood residents.
• Supporting the continued development, maintenance and improvement of infrastructure to ensure safe and accessible walkability and improved biking and driving experiences.
• Supporting efforts to expand and develop the business corridor eastward toward the city limits.
• Ensuring that Maplewood ordinances and processes are constitutionally sound and do not have a disparate or negative impact on any particular group or groups of citizens and that such ordinances and processes are enforced and conducted consistently and fairly for the betterment of all.
• Working to create a safe, affordable housing solution for aging members of the community and developing programs to assist those living on fixed incomes to get access to resources they need.
• Encouraging direct communication between all Maplewood citizens and government either through town halls or by reaching out directly into the community to determine issues currently facing Maplewood residents and using that feedback to make positive change in our community.

I would be honored to have the opportunity to serve the citizens of Maplewood and look forward to hearing from you how I could do that most effectively.