Commissioner McLaughlin has focused his efforts on issues of transit, housing, job development and the environment including:

• Coordinated the successful regional effort with the help of labor, business and community in lobbying for LRT funding.
• Founding member of the Phillips Partnership - a public/private partnership created to target the problems that were plaguing the neighborhood. Successful efforts include Train to Work, a training program that gives students advanced skills and higher paying employment, with more than 253 graduates, 215 of which are working at Abbott Northwestern and Children's Hospitals and Health Careers Institute; . The Partnership has also worked to improve the affordable housing situation and 35W access.
• Founding member of the Midtown Community Works Partnership, a public/private collaborative effort that addresses the issues facing the Midtown Community. The Partnership has been instrumental in keeping the Midtown Greenway on track.
• Supporter of the Hennepin/Powderhorn Partners, a partnership between the County, various social service organizations and the residents of the neighborhood. They work across departmental lines to effectively address the complex problems of individuals and their families.
• Helped to develop a comprehensive bicycle transportation plan. Provided County funding for 29^th Street Greenway, a bike trail and green space that will run from France Avenue to the Mississippi River.
• Reduced mercury emissions from the Hennepin County garbage burner/resource recovery facility by 90 percent.
• Led efforts to open Stone Arch Bridge for use by citizens through successful partnership with City and State governments. Participated in bridge renovation and interpretive trail development.
• Made the county a full partner in the Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Program (NRP).

Commissioner McLaughlin’s involvement beyond the County Board includes:

Chair, Metropolitan LRT Joint Powers Board Steering Committee; Member, National Association of Counties (NACo) Large Urban Counties Caucus; Vice Chair, Minneapolis Youth Coordinating Board; Member, Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board and Chair of Needs Assessment Committee; Member, Minneapolis Neighborhood Revitalization Plan (NRP) Policy Board; Member, City/County Homeless Task Force (Family); Member, St. Anthony Falls Heritage Board; Member, Joint Committee on Community Corrections; Member, Association of Minnesota Counties Fiscal Affairs Task Force; Chair, Tax Policy Study Group; Finance Chair, National Democratic County Officials; Vice Chair, Joint Center for Sustainable Communities, NACo; Member, Welfare Reform Next Steps Task Force, NACo; Vice Chair, NACo’s Labor and Employee Benefits Steering Committee; Member, Green Institute Capitol Campaign Committee; Chair, Health Careers Institute Board.

Commissioner McLaughlin earned an A.B. in 1971 from Princeton University and an M.A. in 1977 from the Hubert Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Learn more about Commissioner McLaughlin by following this link.