ABOUT ME
Welcome! My Name Is Christian
A Natural Born Leader
Christian McCleary (he/him/his) has always been a caretaker and provider for his family, friends, and community. He was born in Washington D.C and lived in the state Maryland for the majority of his life. Christian landed his first job as a lifeguard at the age of fifteen and has been working hard ever since! Because of the cultural barriers that McCleary faced while pursuing his own education, he is extremely motivated and driven to be an advocate for the learning of others.
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Christian wasn’t the most successful student in his K-12 career. He had a unique learning style that did not pair well with standardized curriculum, and he quickly slipped through the cracks of the achievement gap. Christian needed additional support from academic tutors in order to graduate, but failure to have those needs met caused him to withdraw at the age of seventeen. Shortly after withdrawing, Christian then came across a supportive organization specifically designed for marginalized and misrepresented youth. It was there that he learned the importance of volunteering, mentoring, education, and activism. The organization saw something in Christian that he couldn’t see for himself! They trained and coached him, in addition to supporting his needs with stipends. These resources provided many opportunities and skills for Christian to build. He learned the importance of environmental safety and developed conservation, water restoration, construction, animal rehabilitation, advocacy for community equity, and public speaking skills.
Christian participated in local, state and national conferences/events, he became a mentor for LatinX children, and served as a crew leader for young adults all while studying for his upcoming GED exam. He connected with local government leadership and was frequently engaging with stakeholders such as: activists, attorney generals, mayors, law enforcement, and White House representatives. Christian then became a National Service Volunteer, teaching in middle schools and learning administrative skills to transition into the workforce.
After his term of service, at just nineteen years old, Christian completed his GED and moved to Minnesota where he immediately felt at home and welcomed by a new culture! For the last five years Christian has lived in Minnesota and been involved with various projects. One of the biggest successes of Christian’s journey was helping to receive a three-million dollar grant for the African-American community to motivate, support, service, and encourage one another!
Christian has been welcomed by community leaders of all ages, backgrounds, identities, and perspectives! He is now a proud resident of Apple Valley, Minnesota and is willing to continue to build relationships, listen to community needs, and serve this community just as he has done for many others!
Why Christian For City Council
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Christian is a twenty-four year old African-American man, running for City Council in Apple Valley. He is seeking a seat because he values all aspects of life and wants to provide opportunities at the highest level in which residents are beneficiaries of policies and decisions. He wants to be a part of the Apple Valley team because the city pours resources, relationships and time into the community. Christian attended MCTC in Minneapolis, where he obtained a Liberal Arts Degree in Psychology and an extensive study in Woman Studies. McCleary maintained a 3.5 GPA, achieved Dean's List status, and joined the Phi Theta Kappa Honors Society all while working full-time for a literacy based organization. Christian has proven that he can be a well-versed and respectable community leader through his accomplishments and skill set. His youthfulness and energetic tendencies make him easy to connect with! Christian is ambitious, honest, caring, passionate, trustworthy, dedicated, consistent, resilient, affable, proactive, organized, considerate, a strategic thinker, and a team player. McCleary believes in egalitarianism and supports all cultures without judgement. He is excited to have a historical campaign as he pursues this journey and dream of becoming the youngest and first African-American city council member in Apple Valley, Minnesota.
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Christian is an advocate for families, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), women’s rights, affordable/subsidized housing, criminal justice equity, communities with disabilities, parks and recreation departments, employment, law enforcement, youth engagement, immigrants, refugees, and public works. Christian thrives to influence how people view “Welcome Back Residents” (recently incarcerated individuals) and the limited resources that they have access to. Christian is an outreach savant and is skillful at networking! With these skills, McCleary intends to act as a bridge for residents and businesses in order to create tangible outcomes. Partnerships between the community and business are needed for equitable sustainability for all involved. Engaging both businesses and residents as partners in success will help to ensure a less problematic society.
Christian has a welcoming personality and believes that he can reach a consensus with all residential concerns. He plans to listen to residents directly in order to address community needs before and after they arise.
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Community Advocacy
MISSION STATEMENT
Serving Community Members
To ensure general safety, education, employment, criminal justice reform, affordable housing, public works, maintenance and tangible resources for all Apple Valley residents. By working with community partners, businesses and legislative stakeholders through an equitable lens.