Name: Karla Bigham Age: 43 Educational Background: Master of Public Affairs Degree from the University of Minnesota, Bachelor’s Degree as a paralegal, with minors in sociology and political science from Winona State University, and a proud graduate of Park High School.

Relevant Information:

Karla has been a member of the Minnesota State Senate since 2018. She has also served as a Washington County Commissioner, in the State House of Representatives, and as a Cottage Grove City Council Member. Karla currently works as a paralegal in the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office in the Child Protection Division. Karla is a lifelong resident of South Washington County and lives in Cottage Grove with her husband, John.

Office Sought: Washington County Commissioner District 4 Why Karla Bigham?

Advocating for our communities is my passion because I grew up here and want to continue to give back. My experience as a State Senator, Washington County Commissioner, State Representative, and Cottage Grove City Council Member has afforded me the opportunity to build partnerships and deliver results for our communities. I am proud to have earned the endorsements of Cottage Grove Mayor Myron Bailey, Newport Mayor Laurie Elliott, and St. Paul Park Mayor Sandi Dingle. My history of working across the aisle to pass legislation and sponsoring bipartisan bills are the leadership skills needed to be successful in public service. I am proud to have been the chief author of the legislation that made the HERO Center, a stateof- the-art training center for first responders in Cottage Grove, a reality. Fighting to remove and prevent PFAS from contaminating our drinking water through legislation is something I have been focused on my entire legislative career. I also introduced a bipartisan legislation for major renovations to the Hastings Veterans Home. Previously as Washington County Commissioner, by working with the other board members, I was able to get improvements to Ravine Park in Cottage Grove, use goats in our county parks to remove invasive shrubs, expanded workforce housing options, completed necessary infrastructure improvements to 70th Street and County Road 19. Additionally, partnered with the watershed district to build a new culvert on Grey Cloud Island to improve the backwaters.

As Washington County Commissioner, my top priorities will be: addressing mental health and chemical dependency issues in our communities, advocate for necessary improvements to the Park Grove Library, work collaboratively with our local businesses to address workforce issues in our communities, and plan for the needs of our growing and aging communities.

Throughout the campaign, I have proudly earned the support of your neighbors, numerous labor organizations, the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce PAC, and the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association.

I humbly ask for your vote for Washington County Commissioner. To find out more about me, go to www. KarlaBigham.com. Early voting is happening now, go to www.mnvotes.org to learn more about how you can vote early. I would be honored to earn your vote on November 8th or before.

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Name: Keith Franke
Age: 51

Educational Background:
• Park High School
• Bar and Restaurant Management, St. Paul Technical College
• Economic Development, Hamline University

Relevant Information: Former St. Paul Park Mayor, Two-term State Representative, Small Business Owner, and lifelong resident of Washington County
Office Sought: Washington County Commissioner District 4
Why Keith Franke?
I’m a dad to two children and two wonderful grandchildren. I am a small business owner of the Park Café and Franke’s Corner Bar in St. Paul Park. I’m the State Representative for 54A and have served on the city council and as Mayor of St. Paul Park. I hope to take my personal experience along with my local and state government experience to the county board and work on making our community better for everyone. My priorities include working to implement new programming for our aging population like transportation services and supporting those on fixed incomes. I’ll fight to lower property taxes for residents, new and old. I hope to expand mental health and addiction resources while supporting public safety officials and county attorneys to do their job. And I will continue to build partnerships between businesses, non-profits, cities, and the county to create opportunities that benefit all of us- just as I did when I introduced legislation to expand the GI bill, or when I secured funds to expand investigations into eldercare abuse, or when I rallied the state together to stop a bill that would have taken away funding for all non-profits that benefit from e-pull tabs like Legions, VFWs, Youth Hockey, and disability services. Please visit www.KeithFranke.org and feel free to reach out or stop for coffee at the Cafe. Once again, thank you, and remember to vote Franke.