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Stephanie Woodruff

Information about mayoral candidate Stephanie Woodruff

October 21, 2013 at 6:22PM

(The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Party: DFL

Occupation: Chief revenue officer at AverQ, Inc., a California-based auditing software company. One of three citizens members of the city's audit committee. Resume includes several positions in auditing and consulting, including an 11 year stint at Cargill.

Education:

Woodruff has said her priority would be to rally the community behind Superintendant Bernadeia Johnson's SHIFT agenda, which offers more flexibility to a limited number of schools to see if they can improve results, including more hiring freedom and longer school days and years.
She would escrow part of the mayor's salary into a fund for reducing the achievement gap if minority student outcomes don't improve.
She has also advocated having "Learning Labs" across the city to help kids who are not performing (MinnPost).

Development:

Woodruff wants to see more affordable housing choices that are close to transit and jobs. She says that "Sustainable and green housing need not be 'luxury' housing." (Campaign site)
She is a fierce opponent of the Vikings stadium plan, accusing stadium boosters of misleading the public during the process.
She also advocates more "compact, interconnected neighborhoods." (Campaign site)

Transit:

Woodruff said she supports streetcars, but is "not a fan [of] the proposal in terms of how its financed." That refers to a Council-approved plan to redirect more than $60 million in property taxes from development already underway around the city. She responded "no" when asked whether she supports the complete $200 million streetcar plan.

Public safety:

"My plan is to create economic opportunity, ensure quality public education, and encourage greater community involvement in law enforcement."

Taxes:

Woodruff says the city should prioritize initiatives that grow the tax base. She adds that too much reliance on unpredictable state aid "presents great risk."

Other:

Woodruff is one of the most involved members of the city's audit committee, which is tasked with overseeing and guiding City Hall's small auditing department. She is more likely than others on the committee to criticize city operations based on audit findings, such as her response to a review of the city's IT contract in 2012.
She has said the lack of transparency in City Hall is what prompted her to run for office.

Key endorsements: The Minnesota Independence Party, former City Council budget chair Paul Ostrow (her campaign chairman).