Rooted in North Oaks.
Ready to Serve.
North Oaks is a community unlike any other — shaped by a founding vision of living in harmony with the natural world, governed collaboratively by its residents, and sustained by a shared commitment to responsible stewardship.
Fritz, Andrew, and Riki are running together to honor that vision, restore fiscal discipline, and bring transparent, data-driven leadership to North Oaks city government.
ENDORSEMENTS
Four Former Mayors Endorse F.A.R. Candidates
We have not always agreed. During our 20 years of combined mayoral service, the four of us have led North Oaks with different priorities, different styles, and at times sharply different views. But in this election, we speak with one voice because we share a concern for our city's future. North Oaks is at an important crossroads, and it calls for experienced, thoughtful leadership. That is why we endorse Fritz Johnson for Mayor and Andrew Gaspard and Riki Banerjee for City Council.
We are concerned that North Oaks is losing the fiscal discipline that has long been a hallmark of city leadership. From 2005 to 2023, despite strong household growth, our tax levy rose an average of just 5.2% per year and never more than 10%. Since Krista Wolter took office in 2023, we have had three years of double-digit increases, and she now proposes another 10.6%, for a total during her administration of almost 60%, four times the rate of inflation. These huge tax increases have led to record surpluses and reserves. The City has also added $1.8 million in debt. We are not advocating penny-pinching, but real value for every dollar, careful investment, and never taxing more than necessary.
Good government is also open government. Residents deserve meaningful input before decisions are made, not after, and North Oaks works best when the City and the North Oaks Homeowners Association are partners. Instead, the City has embarked on major projects, including an expansion of city sewer and water and a new city hall on NOHOA's soccer fields, without keeping either residents or NOHOA fully in the loop. The FAR candidates will listen, work with NOHOA, and build a shared vision rather than division.
Above all, this election is about preserving what makes North Oaks unique: the quiet, the dark skies full of stars, the natural landscape, and the idea that nature matters more than buildings. The Hill family laid out our narrow, winding roads to protect drainage and trees, not to carry traffic. Residents have consistently ranked nature and privacy as top priorities, and as former Mayor Bill Ecklund puts it, "You really can't truly have one without the other." North Oaks is not Edina. Too many on the current Council "can't see the forest for the trees."
Four former mayors, with different histories and viewpoints, stand united because the long-term wellbeing of North Oaks is at stake. We believe in fiscal responsibility, cooperation, and preserving North Oaks' character. We urge you to vote for Fritz Johnson for Mayor and Andrew Gaspard and Riki Banerjee for City Council.
Signed,
Bill Ecklund, Mayor 1991-1994, Council 1989-1990
Seth Colton, Mayor 1995-2000
Tom Watson, Mayor 2001-2008, Council 1991-2000, 2021-2024
Kara Ries, Mayor 2021-2022, Council 2019-2020
THE PLATFORM
Three Commitments to North Oaks
Transparency, Governance & Safety
1
Residents deserve to know how decisions are made — and to participate in making them.
Open forums to improve resident input, engagement, and communication
Restore process for constituent proposals for City Council feedback
Consistent, uniform data reporting on city finances & services
Fiscal Responsibility
2
North Oaks residents have seen significant property tax increases. We must hold the line on spending, demand accountability in every budget cycle, and work to ensure your tax dollars deliver real value.
Line-by-line budget scrutiny
Multiple contract bids on high expense projects
Resident-first spending priorities
Preserving Our Founding Principles
3
The vision that built North Oaks — natural environment, privacy, self-governance — is worth defending.
Conservation-first land use decisions
Protecting North Oaks’ character
Upholding resident self-governance
FAQS
Transparency and Citizen Involvement
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For decades, North Oaks had binding agenda rules requiring the council to provide a full packet of background materials one week before a vote. These rules enabled meaningful public engagement and required a two-thirds vote to act on an agenda item.
On August 14, 2025, Mayor Wolter proposed replacing these rules with staff “guidelines.” The council approved the change 4–1, with Andrew as the sole dissenting vote. Wolter and Azman voted in favor. The new guidelines significantly weaken residents’ ability to understand and participate in city government:
Requirements are now targets to meet “when feasible.”
Materials may arrive as late as 3 p.m. on meeting day.
The packet target shrank from seven days to three.
Just three votes can add an item not on the agenda, down from four.
The guarantee of public comment was eliminated.
Example: On June 12, 2025, the mayor proposed raising sewer rates 8–10% and water rates 3% without providing residents a packet to review—or even giving council members a written packet. Andrew voted no, requesting the full, written financial plan before considering the increases. See the meeting here: https://webstreaming.ctv15.org/viewer.php?streamid=7861
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The current council routinely makes major decisions without resident input. While routine business doesn’t require public consultation, major decisions should. As elected representatives, council members have an obligation to seek residents’ input. Here are examples of when they failed to do so.
On September 10, 2026, the council voted 4-1 to commission the design of a new multi-million dollar city hall, at taxpayer cost, possibly on NOHOA's Southpointe field. Andrew voted no, asking that residents be engaged first. See the meeting here: https://webstreaming.ctv15.org/viewer.php?streamid=8761
On November 20, 2025, the council voted 4-1 to ask the Met Council to allow sewer service citywide without any resident engagement on the issue, though it would have broad ranging implications for residents. See the meeting here: https://webstreaming.ctv15.org/viewer.php?streamid=8182
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We’ll publish complete materials one week before any vote, require a real supermajority to act on items that weren't on the agenda, and provide a guaranteed public comment period. We'll also hold forums so that residents have the option to weigh in before major decisions are made, not after.
Budget and Taxes
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From 2005 to 2023, the city levy rose about 5% per year and never more than 10%, even as the number of households grew.
All of the double-digit increases have come under Mayor Krista Wolter, who took office in January 2023.
Her council raised the levy 13.5% for 2024, 12.8% for 2025, and 11.7% for 2026.
On September 21, 2026, it set a maximum 2027 levy of $3,452,374, another 10.6%. That adds up to nearly 60% in four years, about four times inflation.
Since joining the council in December 2024, Andrew has voted against every levy increase. Most recently, on September 21, 2026, he asked for a line-by-line budget review and use of surplus reserves before raising taxes again.
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In short, no. The city ran surpluses totaling $2.2 million from 2022 to 2024. It ended 2024 with unassigned reserves equal to 94% of a year's general fund spending. The State Auditor recommends 35% to 50%, and the six neighboring cities average 59%. Our surplus is well above that. Taxes needed to increase, but not by nearly 60% over four years.
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Fritz, Andrew, and Riki will always ensure that we pay to keep our community safe and secure. However, it's not just police and fire driving the increased budget. Spending the council directly controls, such as staff, rent, consultants, and insurance, is budgeted 42% higher for 2026 than in 2022.
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These current council procedures fall short of best practices and need to change:
Budgets are rolled forward, not built from actual spending. The 2026 budget started from the 2025 budgeted amounts, not from what the city actually spent, so underspent categories carry over and push taxes up. The council also sees only one budget option, while NOHOA reviews several.
No real-time tracking. Monthly reports compare spending to the full-year budget without accounting for timing, so no one can tell whether the city is over or under budget.
There is no bidding process for major contracts. The city hired its new engineering firm on August 14, 2025 without a new request for proposals, over Andrew's no vote. It was an up-or-down vote on a single vendor with no other competitive bids. This has also happened with contracts for the lobbyist, city engineer, and the architect, among others.
Contracts aren't actively managed. North Oaks used to work with the other cities to monitor and adjust the Sheriff's contract. That practice has lapsed.
The sewer and water budget isn't monitored. The council reviews utility finances only once a year, when it sets fees.
What we'll do. We'll build budgets from actual costs and give the council several options to choose from. We'll track spending against budget every month, put major contracts out for bid, and actively manage the contracts we have. Our goal is real value for every tax dollar and never taxing more than necessary.
Qualifications
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All three candidates, Fritz, Andrew, and Riki, have experience running companies, where they have been held accountable for managing budgets and providing results.
None of the FAR candidates have any actual, potential, or perceived conflict of interest. They have no business before the city, no contracts with it, and no financial stake in its development or land-use decisions.
All three FAR candidates are partially retired from their careers and will give North Oaks the time and energy the work requires, and every decision we make will be in residents' interest alone.
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Andrew has served on the North Oaks City Council for two years, asking tough questions on behalf of North Oaks residents. He holds Master of Urban Planning and MBA degrees, and spent more than 15 years in commercial banking and in planning and community development. Andrew and his wife, Nina, founded Skylark Cleaning, an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional dry cleaning, and grew it over more than a decade into an established Twin Cities business before selling it to the industry’s market leader in 2022, and Andrew currently directs a private company whose holdings include 10,000 acres of commercial forest land, overseeing its property operations, finances and investor relations. Learn more about Andrew here: https://www.andrewfornorthoaks.com/#about
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Riki was an engineer and manager at 3M and Medtronic, then Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at a neurotechnology startup. She led teams in a heavily regulated industry, managed budgets, passed audits on medical implants, and answered personally to regulators, patients, and families for her team's work. Learn more about Riki here: https://www.rikifornorthoaks.com/#about
Sewer & City Water
Coming soon.
THE CANDIDATES
CITY ELECTION — NOVEMBER 2026
Vote F.A.R. This November 3rd
Fritz, Andrew, and Riki are committed to serving every resident of North Oaks with integrity, transparency, and a deep respect for what makes this community exceptional.
We would be honored to earn your trust and your vote.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Meet the Candidates!
East Pleasant Lake Area
Thursday, October 22 · 7:00–9:00 PM
Location shared when you RSVP
CONTACT US
Questions or Comments?
We we love to hear from you.