Debbie Goettel, District 5

Hennepin County

• Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, vice-chair
• Administration, Operations and Budget Committee, chair
• Audit Committee, member
• Child Well-being Taskforce, chair
• Hennepin County Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HCHRA), member
• Hennepin County Regional Railroad Authority (HCRRA), member
• Hennepin Health, member
• Resident Services Committee, chair

Other positions

• Association of Minnesota Counties (AMC) voting delegate
• AMC Environment Committee, member
• Blue Line Extension Project Decisions Board, 2nd alternate
• Community Action Partnership of Hennepin County (CAP-HC), member
• CornerHouse, member
• Green Line Extension Corridor Management Committee, member
• Green Line Extension Community Works Steering Committee, member
• Green Line Extension Executive Change Control Board, member
• Heading Home Hennepin, member
• Hennepin History Museum, member
• Library Board, liaison
• Metro GIS Policy Board, member
• Metropolitan Library Service Agency (MELSA) and Metronet, member
• Partnership on Waste and Energy Issues, member
• Regional Solid Waste Hauler Licensing Board, member
• Transportation Advisory Board, member

When Debbie Goettel (pronounced “Go Tell”) took office in January 2017, she came prepared with the experience needed to be a strong advocate for her suburban district. Before joining the county board, she served 10 years as Richfield’s mayor. During that time, she spurred significant redevelopment in the downtown area and south side of the city. Her collaboration with the city council and staff also led to the city’s first comprehensive five-year plan to repave all city streets.

In addition to her brick-and-mortar contributions to the city, Debbie is proud of her human rights initiatives. In 2011, she and the city passed an ordinance for partnership agreements, providing same-sex couples with the same rights as married couples. The success in Richfield paved the way for collaboration with other city mayors to pass similar partnership agreements. Debbie and her mayoral colleagues were proud to support the efforts that led to statewide equality in 2013.

Outside of her service in public office, Debbie has been an active participant in local and regional civics. Her passion for creating a brighter future led to service on:

• Richfield Foundation Board
• Minnesota Environmental Initiatives Task Force
• Richfield 4th of July Committee
• Metropolitan Housing Policy Board
• League of Minnesota Cities
• Urban Land Institute's Regional Council of Mayors
• Governor's 2013 Local Government Aid task force

Debbie has a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) and completed graduate studies on environmental sustainability at Harvard and University of Minnesota. In her professional career, she worked for international companies in the area of Sustainability, Environment, Health, and Safety. Debbie is married with three children and five grandchildren.

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Newsletters

2020

• July
• Special message: Justice for George Floyd
• May
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2019

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2018

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2017

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• March

Road construction

• Flying Cloud Drive reconstruction (County Road 61) in Eden Prairie and Chanhassen

This district includes the cities of Bloomington, Richfield, southern Eden Prairie, and parts of Minneapolis.