Sean Lathrop
Email Sean Lathrop

Please tell us a little bit about yourself and your family
I am a 26 year old police officer that works for the St Cloud Police Department. I currently own my house in St Joe. I purchased my house about two years ago and love the neighborhood where I live. I have my Bachelors degree in Criminal Justice from St Mary's in Winona, MN. Prior to moving to the St Joseph area for my current job in September of 2006 I worked for the St Paul Police and Fire Departments as a dispatcher. While attending college in Winona, MN I worked for the local advanced life support ambulance. I also worked for a volunteer ambulance service in Lake City, MN. The City of Lake City is a town similar in size to St Joe. I am from the northern Minnesota town of Hill City where I was born and raised. This is a town with a population of 475 people. My dad was the Mayor of Hill City for twelve years while I was growing up. I was always active in Student Council, Kids Plus, MN Business Venture, State of MN House of Representatives Page program, Student Representative on the School Board, started my own business at the age of 13 and was an advocate for youth activities in town. After turning eighteen I was a volunteer emergency medicine First Responder for the Hill City Area as the local ambulance came from 25 minutes away. I currently own a boat and enjoy fishing...which I definitely could be better at...but thats why they call it "fishing" and not "catching". I have a year and a half old yellow lab who is resistant to training but does assist in the occasional hunting trip.

What experience do you have that prepares you for public office
After working in the Public sector for the past six years as both a police officer and a dispatcher I have seen many different budgeting techniques and management habits. Some of these I agree with more than others and I feel that there are cost saving techniques that could be employed at times. With my past experience at meetings such as city council, school board, chamber of commerce, EMS Task Force and so forth I feel I have the understanding for the rules governing meetings and how they operate. I will go into this position with the understanding of how to accomplish something and gain support from other members. My analytical listening approach that I use at work will assist in taking in all perspectives and listening to everyones opinion before making my decision. With that I am also able to hear what my challenges are going to be in a topic before releasing my thoughts. I have also seen many very good management decisions and budget techniques that I feel could be mirrored in other agencies and places. After working in public safety I do feel that I could represent what is and what is not a neccessity in tight budget times.

Why you decided to run for this office
Plain and simple. I decided to run for this office to give a fresh, young persepective to the city. St Joe has a large population of young residents from young professionals of the many businesses in the area as well as the college students. I feel that I would be a good bridge between the permanent residents and the college students who call St Joe home. I would like to look into ways to integrate the groups of residents even better than how it is currently done. I also feel that there are many good things going on in the city. I want to support the current good things and find ways to improve others. I want to bring this new persepctive of a fresh two year resident of St Joe to the council and work on issues I have witnessed and been made aware of.

Top three issues you would tackle, if elected
The three main issues at this point would be:
1.) To monitor and see what could be done about the road development in the Northeast part of town wanting to make a connection between County road 2 and 133. I do not feel that this increased traffic flow through a reidential neighborhood would be enough of a benefit to save someone a few minutes of travel. I do not think that the safety of a child is worth a few minutes of driving time saved.
2.) Support the 2 am bar close in the city of St Joe. I know that this is a large ticket "hot topic". However I think that there benefits to this. Some of these are the increased revenue for the city of a 2 am bar close license, as well as the chances that a person who stays out until 2 am would be more likely to wrap up their "evening" when bar the bar closes instead of drifiting to a house party in the neighborhood because they still have energy left to "party" at 1 am. I also think that if there were a 2 am bar close it would assist in minimizing traffic from St Joe to other locations where individuals could get another hour of bar time. I believe it may cut down on the possibility of intoxicated drivers seeking that additional hour of drinking at nearby establishments which may be open later. As a resident in the neighborhood, I would rather have the bar crowd contained in the bar area for an additional hour instead of partying next door.
3.) I would continue to monitor the infrastructure of the city's roads, buildings as well as the vehicles owned by the city. While monitoring them I would push for routine maintenance to keep them in good working order to avoid more costly replacement. I believe that any budget conscious individual would agree that tax dollars are better spent in wise upkeep instead of wasted replacement which could have been avoided.