With the city DFL endorsing convention coming up in mid-July, the field of candidates vying to replace outgoing Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) Commissioner Elizabeth Shaffer is starting to gel.
After some false starts and testing of the waters, four candidates have active campaigns for the District 4 Park Board seat: Paula Chesley, Jason Garcia, Andrew Gebo and Conrad Zbikowski.
While some of these names may already be familiar to readers, this is still a campaign of relative newcomers in that none of the candidates has yet held elected public office.
Given the outsized role that parks play in this paper’s circulation area, the Hill & Lake Press interviewed all four to learn more about their backgrounds and top priorities should they be elected.
All expressed a strong desire to act as public servants, and all were a pleasure to speak with — thank you! In reverse alphabetical order, the candidates are as follows:
Conrad Zbikowski
Although he’s a first-time candidate for public office, members of the DFL faithful will likely recognize Zbikowski’s name.
The 32-year-old Zbikowski most recently served as chair of the Minneapolis DFL from April 2024 until April 2025, when he resigned in the midst of a legal fracas over scheduling of the Ward 2 convention. That dust-up notwithstanding, Zbikowski says he’s proud of his accomplishments as chair, noting that caucus turnout this year was the highest since 2016, and that the city DFL fully funded both the caucuses and ward conventions without receiving outside money, whether from the state DFL or advocacy groups.
By way of background, Zbikowski was born in Minneapolis, but spent his grade school years in the northern suburbs, first in Spring Lake Park, then graduating from high school in Shoreview.
From there, he pursued a major in communications studies at the University of Minnesota, graduating in 2016.
Since then, Zbikowski has worked for entities ranging from private communications and marketing companies to the Democratic Party to the University of Minnesota.
Zbikowski says he didn’t plan to run for Park Board until two previously announced candidates, Jordan Leick and Jody Wynen, dropped out of the race, which roughly coincided with Zbikowski’s departure as city DFL chair.
Zbikowski says he’s a strong candidate, with government experience, coalition-building experience, and good relationships with elected officials.
Zbikowski says he also worked with previous MPRB District 4 Commissioner and President Jono Cowgill on Waterworks Park and other park projects.
Asked about his top three priorities if elected, Zbikowski cites: (a) accessible parks for all; (b) investing in healthy communities (e.g.. sports, exercise, senior programs); and (c) safety in parks and parkways, ranging from youth and homeless outreach to physical infrastructure such as traffic calming measures on parkways.
More information on Zbikowski’s campaign can be found at: czbi.org.
Andrew Gebo
Andrew Gebo is a new name in local politics. A transplant from California who now lives near Loring Park, the 32-year-old Gebo moved to Minneapolis in 2018, where he helps manage business relationships with customers for a local tech company.
Gebo was born in Jackson, California, a small former gold-mining town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, where he lived until 13, moving to the Bay Area for high school with his mother after his stepfather passed away from cancer.
After graduating from high school, he began pursuing a business degree and became a registered investment advisor, before shifting focus to work with tech start-ups.
The high cost of living in the Bay Area prompted Gebo to consider relocating, and he zeroed in on Minneapolis after conducting some online research and then traveling to the area in January of 2018 to make sure he could handle the winters. Winters weren’t a problem, he concluded, and he moved to the area in July of that year, followed shortly by his mom and his brother.
Gebo says parks were a big part of the reason he settled on Minneapolis as a new home, with Loring Park being a particular favorite, and spent significant time around Lake of the Isles and Bde Maka Ska as well.
Gebo says parks offer residents an important opportunity to connect with nature, and the Minneapolis parks, in particular, help show off the city in a very positive light.
Asked about his political ambitions, Gebo says he had a “service moment” after the 2024 elections and began asking himself what he could do to help the community and make a positive contribution.
A friend suggested the District 4 Park Board seat, which Gebo says immediately resonated because of his love of our park system.
Asked about political influences, Gebo cites Bernie Sanders and what he describes as “left-wing populism,” including supporting workers, preserving green spaces and the environment.
He also mentions wanting to help rebuild the city and make it better after the George Floyd murder.
Gebo says his top three priorities, if elected, would be (a) listening to community input and preferences and acting as a public servant; (b) working to ensure park accessibility for all; and (c) creatively addressing the budget crunch that will be facing all local units of government in the coming years, while trying to keep the tax burden minimized.
More information on Gebo’s campaign can be found at: gebo4parkboard.com.
Jason Garcia
Like Andrew Gebo, Jason Garcia is a Minnesota resident by choice. Born in Waukesha, Wisconsin, the 50-year-old Garcia grew up in Hayward, then pursued a degree from University of Wisconsin - Whitewater, majoring in English and minoring in earth sciences.
After graduating from Whitewater in 1997, they moved to Minneapolis, remaining there for a decade until relocating back to Waukesha in 2007 to help care for an ailing parent.
Garcia returned to Minneapolis in 2013, living first in the Lyndale neighborhood, then moving to the Wedge in 2021 (where they had lived previously in the early 2000s).
Garcia says parks are a big part of the reason they chose Minneapolis as a place to live — growing up in an area with lots of wilderness access, they understood the importance of easy access and connection to nature.
Garcia also says parks and park programming were of great importance when raising their now-adult son.
Garcia also says parks and park programming were of great importance when raising their now-adult son.
Professionally, Garcia has held a variety of positions, working first in retail/customer service management, then working with The BrandLab, a non-profit that helps kids from non-traditional backgrounds get into the marketing industry.
From there, Garcia shifted to work focused on improving food systems and food access, working first for NATIFS (North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems), a non-profit dedicated to re-establishing native foodways, and currently working at The Good Acre, a non-profit food hub that helps aggregate food from small, local providers.
While this is Garcia’s first run for public office, they have served on the board of the Lowry Hill East Neighborhood Association (including as president from 2022 to 2023), along with volunteering for Planned Parenthood as a clinic escort and helping gather traditional medicines for indigenous community members.
Like Zbikowski, Garcia began considering a Park Board run after former candidate Jordan Leick dropped out, which prompted neighbors to approach them about running instead.
Garcia says their top three priorities, if elected, would be (a) ensuring equitable access to parks, particularly for apartment and condo dwellers; (b) ensuring that parks remain safe for all; and (c) promoting connection to nature. Garcia also speaks of wanting to preserve the Park Board’s historic investment in parks and wanting to promote clear and transparent communications with the public.
More information on Garcia’s campaign can be found at: jasongarcia.org.
Paula Chesley
Although a relative newcomer to politics, East Isles resident Paula Chesley will be familiar to many readers because of her recently ended run for the Ward 7 City Council seat.
Previously profiled in this paper in connection with that race (see the Hill & Lake Press, Feb. 2025). Chesley says that after she ended her City Council campaign, many neighbors approached her about running for Shaffer’s Park Board seat.
After taking time to think about it, she announced her candidacy in mid-June. The 46-year-old-old Chesley lived in several different Minnesota communities growing up, including Mankato, West St. Paul and St. Cloud, before attending the University of Minnesota, double-majoring in English and French.
After graduating, she moved to France on a Fulbright Teaching Assistantship, earned a master's degree in computational linguistics in Paris, then obtained a Ph.D. in linguistics at the University of Minnesota.
But after spending a couple of years as a visiting professor and post-doctoral researcher, Chesley decided she wanted to spend more time working directly with people and shifted focus dramatically.
She spent two years with a contemporary dance studio in Berlin, and her interest in dance morphed into an interest in yoga.
After returning to the United States, she began work as a yoga teacher, first at studios, and now on staff with the Emily Program, where she teaches yoga and meditation to individuals in recovery from eating disorders.
Chesley says she also helped develop the Emily Program’s community garden and teaches gardening to program participants.
Chesley’s interest in politics started out with parks. In 2020, she successfully challenged the Park Board’s ordinance banning female toplessness.
At approximately the same time, she became increasingly involved with volunteer activities in her East Isles neighborhood, serving on the local neighborhood association board, becoming a block captain and founding the East Isles Safety Walking Club.
Chesley says that after she ended her City Council campaign, many neighbors approached her about running for Shaffer’s Park Board seat.
After taking time to think about it, she announced her candidacy in mid-June.
She says three top priorities are (1) continuing Elizabeth Shaffer’s strong legacy of constituent services, (2) advocating for additional Park Board funds, whether from the city, county, legislature or other sources and (3) protecting and improving water quality in the parks.
Chesley says that safety in the parks is also key and wants to promote more community gardens in parks, along with advocating for a downtown conservatory.
More information on Chesley’s campaign can be found at: paulaforparks.org.
