Hi, my name is Lew Conner; I am running for Mayor of Two Harbors!

I would appreciate any support you might offer!

I recently moved to Two Harbors in September 2020 and have been approached by several citizens suggesting I enter the Mayoral race. I grew up in a small town of 3500 – West Burlington, Iowa. Moving to a community with Burlington Bay as one of its ‘Two Harbors’ seemed like a natural decision.

I am currently the President of the North Shore Rotary Club and serve on the Board of Directors of North Shore Horizons, a local non-profit that supports victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.

My wife Jen Dietrich (a regional artist and former Art Professor at UMD) and I have a long-haired German Shepherd named ‘Sid’, Jen and I have 6 adult children spread around the world, and 1 grandchild ‘on the way’. I am a former college football player (Central College 1977-81), and even though it may be considered a fault for many Minnesotans, I also love the Iowa Hawkeyes and generally anything related to football! But I love to cheer for the Gophers 11 out of 12 games each year!

I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Administration (Central College) and a Master of Science Degree in Counseling and Higher Education Administration (Drake University). I worked in the higher education industry for over 40 years and am semi-retired while still working part-time as a higher education consultant.

Twenty-Five years ago, I helped create what has become a large international non-profit organization (Higher Education User Group) . Starting and growing a successful global organization has given me experience in making strategic decisions and building sustainable success at scale. 

I started out as an administrator at a university and saw how things could be better. Working together with multiple campuses, I helped develop software to help smooth out the crinkles in student administration. My role within the team was to communicate across the business and with our community to create a solution that was sustainable for everyone. 

By listening to different voices, I can negotiate and navigate complex situations to find common ground. I value compromise and recognize that complex problems like the future of Two Harbors will take a considered, long term strategic approach.

I love building infrastructure and programs that help people connect and thrive now and for generations to come.

Key policy idea

My vision for Two Harbors is simple:

· I believe our city planning should focus on creating a great place for locals while considering the economic impact tourists will bring.

· I believe planning must be done with an emphasis on transparency and rigorous honesty to the community.

· Our strategic investment in infrastructure and programs should work for everyone.