This interview was conducted over email for accessibility and scheduling purposes.

Southwest Voices: How has campaigning been going? What have voters been talking to you about?

Will Stancil: The campaign has been going well. We've focused heavily on doorknocking and talking to voters face-to-face. We've reached approximately 18,000 doors, and I've reached 9,000 doors myself. I've worn out a couple pairs of shoes, even.

A few issues predominate voter attention in the district: the state of Uptown and Hennepin Ave, public safety, schools, property taxes. Of course lots of people are worried about the upcoming presidential election, too. These are broadly the issues we focused on at the start of the campaign, and we've been pleased to see that our priorities have found a receptive audience in the district.

There's a real sense in the district that while Minneapolis is a wonderful place to live, many of the basic roles of government -- things like crime prevention, education, or taxation -- have been too low of a priority. What has really resonated with voters is a commitment to getting back to these "nuts and bolts" -- not in lieu of broader progressive priorities, but in order to create a stable and prosperous city and state where broader progressive priorities can be pursued.

Southwest Voices: You are well-educated on State-level processes and policies. Another aspect of this job is connecting with the community. How would you approach that part of the job?

Will Stancil: There's no substitute for talking to people directly and meeting them where they're at. One of the most unexpected things about running for office is how deeply knowledgeable you become about the district and the people in it. I think I quite literally know someone on every block of the district, and often many people. I know people's concerns, their priorities, even their pets. It's a level of knowledge and familiarity that is impossible to achieve casually, without constant canvassing and outreach to voters. To whatever extent possible, I'd like to continue that level of engagement, going to community meetings, events, and always being available for short or long conversations. (But don't worry! I just want to keep talking, not knock your door every four days.)

Southwest Voices: Some voters have expressed concerns about the way you communicate on Twitter. Why aren’t you publicly talking about your Twitter persona during this election campaign, and would you change your approach if elected?

Will Stancil: I'm a politically engaged person and for years I've maintained a pretty active Twitter account where I talked about political issues -- almost entirely national topics. I had a pretty strict, longstanding rule of not engaging in state and local debates online. Obviously, Twitter is a freewheeling conversational setting. With that said, even as a private citizen, I've always kept it pretty clean: no foul language, lurid insults, or pointless denigration of others. My interests on Twitter were debates over politics, the economy, or how to effectively win elections. During the campaign I've had to dial this back pretty hard and focus on local topics. That would continue to be true if elected. Constituents come first and foremost.

Unfortunately, it does seem like late in the campaign there has been an effort to launch last-minute attacks on me based around misleading clippings from my Twitter account. A number of pictures are being passed around, all of which are misleading or fake. It's dirty politics, full stop. There's no mystery about who I am or what I believe - I've published my views widely, in outlets ranging from the Atlantic to the New York Times to the Star Tribune.

Southwest Voices: What is something that you haven’t been asked about yet that you want to talk about?

Will Stancil: Government accountability! I think it's incredibly important that elected officials be careful stewards of taxpayer money, and Minnesota hasn't done a great job of that in recent years. There are lots of examples of waste, fraud, and abuse. These range from the spectacular (the Feeding Our Future scandal) to the mundane (some affordable housing costing a half-million dollars per unit).

Better-designed systems for allocating and auditing public money have no real downside: you can make limited resources go further, and you can build public trust. As a progressive, I believe that it's essential for voters to know that government programs and spending are transparent, fair, and effective, because then it's easier to convince people to support those programs in the first place. It's a vital part of building state capacity and the legislature has a lot of tools to potentially serve in a watchdog role, building better and more effective public institutions.

Plus, better accountability and oversight is something elected officials can potentially do without needing to pass sweeping legislation, which is exciting in a time of gridlocked government.

Southwest Voices: In a race that has three DFL candidates that would likely have similar voting records in office, how do you stand out? Why should people vote for you?

Will Stancil: I'm pleased to be in a race with two highly qualified competitors, who are both wonderful, friendly people to boot. Of course, at the end of the day, I do think I offer a few key advantages.

First, I've got the widest range of policy and government experience. I've worked with every level of government, ranging from city councils and state legislators, to state agencies and the attorney general's office and the governor's office, all the way to federal agencies, Congress, and the White House. I've primarily worked on issues like housing and regional planning, local government and municipal finance, civil rights law and regulation -- issues that are often intrinsically state-level in nature. I'm quite familiar with the full sweep of government, and, as a policy-focused attorney, very comfortable with the lawmaking process.

Second, I've got a unique set of priorities. I entered this race talking about revitalizing Minneapolis economically, helping public schools, improving public safety, restoring our tax base, and protecting civil rights. These priorities dominated my first campaign flyer. They'll be what I'm talking about on the last day, too. I've lived in the district for 15 years and I believe its concerns closely reflect my own.

Finally, I'm an independent thinker. I'm a long-time neighborhood resident, not a political insider, and I believe I have an obligation to think through every issue on my own. I want to work closely with DFL colleagues to get things done, but at the end of the day I do make my own decisions. I have a long history of pushing back on extreme ideas from either side of the spectrum. This is a highly-educated, highly-engaged district, and it deserves a representative who will discuss and think critically about complex policy issues rather than following the crowd. And that's what I've been doing my whole life.

‍

The primary election is Aug. 13. Voter information is available online.