Larry Frost, candidate for Bloomington City Council, provided this brief introduction and summary key issues.
Larry and his wife built their dream house in Bloomington and moved in five days before 911. For the next two years, Larry was rarely home because he was stationed at Fort McCoy, responsible for ensuring that Reserve and Guard units mobilized for war were as ready for combat as humanly possible.
Larry retired from the Army in 2004 after 27 years in the Marines and Army. He served as an enlisted man and Non-Commissioned officer in in both services, and was commissioned in the Army. He served in the Infantry and Air Defense Artillery, but most of his career was spent as a military intelligence officer.
After retirement, Larry attended the University of St. Thomas Law school, graduating in 2009. His earlier education included the army Command And General Staff College as a resident, something only about 5% of officers are allowed to do. His undergraduate degree is in Strategy.
Larry has served on the Minneapolis Civil Service Board; the Bloomington Schools Curriculum committee (5 years, and one as chair). He currently serves as the Federal Legislative Liaison for the Military Officers Association of Minnesota. He volunteered for the Bloomington Human Rights Commission this year, but was not selected by the current City Council. Larry’s law practice includes pro bono (free) representation of active duty, reserve and retired military in a variety of matters.
Larry has been married to Anita for almost twenty-three years. Both his boys attended Bloomington schools K-12; his youngest son is a senior this year, his oldest boy is a junior in mechanical engineering at the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul.
Campaign Issues :
Hyland Park: I don’t have any position on whether the park remains a golf course or is used for some other park purpose, but I adamantly oppose selling any green space in Bloomington. It is not replaceable. Selling land for even a large price is short-sighted.
Minnesota River Paved Trail: The idea of paving the Minnesota river bottom is just plain silly. Doesn’t the Council know if floods, often 20’ deep, every year? Asphalt paving will be washed away, and collected oil from use will soak into the river.
Rule of Law: The City Council has put Bloomington at hazard by remarkably favoring some land users over others. This can lead to lawsuits and expensive Federal penalties. Our city government should treat everyone by the same rule of law.
Governance: The Council needs to get its information from a much more robust system that doesn’t depend only on senior paid staff. If I am elected, I will push immediately to have a formal representative from city workers attend Council meetings. I value our professional city staff – but I value all of them, not just the highly paid senior staff. As a councilmember I want to hear from the rank and file workers, in a way that does not subject them to retaliation.