30 May 2024
DULUTH — Architect Tim Meyer announced Thursday he will challenge incumbent Rep. Alicia “Liish” Kozlowski, a Democrat, for the District 8B House seat representing eastern Duluth in the state Legislature.
Meyer is no stranger to politics, having run twice unsuccessfully for the Duluth City Council, narrowly losing his most recent bid to 1st District Councilor Wendy Durrwachter in 2023 despite garnering nearly 47% of the vote.
“I felt we had momentum even with the City Council run,” he said. “I’m comfortable that we have name recognition, and this will be my third campaign. So, I have some experience now, and I feel that we have a really good shot to win.”
Meyer intends to run as an independent under the Forward Party banner.
“The DFL has moved further left and the Republican party has moved further right,” he said. “So, there are a lot of us in the middle right now who are feeling underrepresented or not represented.
“I have beliefs that are kind of on the left and right,” Meyer said. “Being a pro-business Democrat is not always an easy thing in our part of Minnesota. I like to work with everyone. To me, it doesn’t matter if you’re conservative or liberal. I think that in order to solve problems, we need to work together.”
Kozlowski and Meyer are the only candidates registered so far for the District 8B House race. The filing period ends Tuesday.
If elected, Meyer said he intends to focus on issues that directly affect his constituents and pledged not to be distracted by other causes or special interests he believes have relatively little impact back home.
“So, I want to go to work for Duluth in St. Paul to get the things that we need out of our state government,” he said.
Meyer noted efforts in Minneapolis to remove many of the development restrictions that have governed traditional low-density neighborhoods zoned R-1.
“I do believe that in certain parts of Duluth, we do need additional or greater density in order to meet our needs,” said Meyer, who served on the Duluth Planning Commission. “But there are problems with adding more density when you get into some of the traditional single-family neighborhoods.”
He voiced support for the idea of bringing more housing into downtown Duluth.
“I think that’s a perfect place for that kind of density, “ Meyer said, adding that he believes the city should re-examine its downtown height restrictions.
However, Meyer explained that he does not favor intermixing high-density development in residential areas where it would dramatically alter a neighborhood’s character.
“I think the emphasis should really be on how we incentivize more private housing development. And, honestly, that’s going to require the state and our cities to invest more in infrastructure for housing,” he said.
Meyer also called for the state to play a greater role in making existing older housing safer. He criticized state officials for not taking swifter action to replace lead water service lines across the state.
“I consider myself to be a clean-water advocate. But one of my complaints has been that we seem to worry too much about mining and the PolyMet operation and those sorts of projects and their impact on clean water. And we have a lot of things right here in Duluth that need to be addressed.”
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