Gail Dorfman, 3rd District

Commissioner Dorfman's goal is closing the door on homelessness in Hennepin County

Commissioner Dorfman

Welcome and thank you for visiting my web page. As county commissioner for the 3rd District, I serve south and west Minneapolis and St. Louis Park. I’m committed to:

• Ending homelessness in Hennepin County.
• Promoting the development of affordable and supportive housing.
• Creating and improving transit and transportation opportunities, including developing a regional transportation system.
• Building healthy families and healthy communities.

Commissioner Dorfman's events and updates

Projects & Initiatives

Ending homelessness

One of Gail’s top priorities is ending homelessness in Hennepin by 2016. In 2006, she co-chaired the commission that developed “Heading Home Hennepin: A Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in Minneapolis and Hennepin County.” She has consistently fought for county funding for affordable housing, and her efforts helped bring Project Homeless Connect to Minneapolis.

In honor of her leadership in this effort, the National Alliance to End Homelessness has given Commissioner Dorfman their Public Sector Achievement Award for 2008.

Help families facing foreclosure

Recently, as the foreclosure crisis began to threaten our community, Commissioner Dorfman has led efforts to support expanded foreclosure counseling and established the Hennepin County Foreclosure Task Force to analyze the county’s role in response to this crisis.

Healthy families, healthy communities

Gail has also developed policies aimed at building healthy families and communities. She co-authored the county’s smoking ordinance – one of the first in the state. She chaired the Neighborhood Revitalization Program Policy Advisory Board and the Juvenile Justice Committee, and she serves on several boards, including the Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board, which she chaired from 2006 until 2008,  and the Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging.

Developing regional transit

Gail works on a wide variety of transportation and transit projects, both in District 3 and Hennepin as a whole. In her work, she seeks to balance the needs of pedestrians, bikes, cars and other transit options on our roads and transit corridors. Transit projects are varied, including the nearly decade-long development of the Southwest Transitway, closing gaps in the county’s popular bike trail system, or reconstruction of Lake Street and Lyndale Avenues.

Save, accessible transit, from bike trails to light rail

Hennepin was the first Minnesota county to implement a Complete Streets policy as part of its overall Active Living Hennepin Communities initiative. Complete Streets is designed to ensure safety and accessibility for all users of the county's roads, trails and transit systems, including pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, motorists, commercial and emergency vehicles and people of all ages and abilities.

Leadership Positions

Hennepin County

• Chair: Health and Human Services Committee
• Chair: Southwest Corridor Project Advisory Committee
• Vice chair: Libraries, Technology & General Government
• Treasurer: Hennepin County Regional Rail Authority (HCRRA)
• Co-Chair: Active Living Hennepin Communities
• Housing and Redevelopment Authority (HRA)
• Out-of-Home Placement Work Group
• Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative
• Counties Transit Improvement Board, Grant Evaluation & Ranking System (GEARS) committee
• Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
• Hennepin History Museum
• Metro County Alliance for Healthy Families
• Metropolitan Health Plan
• Metro Area Agency on Aging

Other Positions

• Chair: Neighborhood Revitalization Program Policy Advisory Board
• Chair: Midtown Community Works Partnership
• Co-Chair: City/County Task Force on Childhood Lead Poisoning
• Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board (chair from 2006 – 2008)
• People, Incorporated