My Vision for Minneapolis

A comprehensive public safety system that is effective and works for everyone is one of the most fundamental responsibilities of the City.

Every time you call 911, the right person, with the right training, needs to respond at the right time.

We need to build a public safety infrastructure that adds more options for keeping us safe and centers racial justice. Here are programs and projects that I am committed to building or renewing investment for:

-Rebuild and expand the Behavioral Crisis Response unit
-Fully fund violence prevention programs like Group Violence Prevention and MinneapolUS
-Work with state and regional partners to make sure that there is a real City presence on trains and in transit stations
-Heavily invest in youth programs, particularly at-risk youth
Invest in the Public Health Department to better serve young children at risk of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) which can have lifelong consequences
-Authorize and support an Overdose Prevention Center. These centers:
Greatly reduce overdose deaths
Provide access to recovery services
Prevent the spread of HIV and Hepatitis
Reduce needles left throughout the city
Reduce open-air drug use
Help bridge people out of homelessness
-Giving firefighters access to the same higher benefits as police
Stop understaffing firefighters (leads to injuries and less safe outcomes)
-Pilot a domestic violence response team that is specifically trained in de-escalation and protecting victims
-Additional training and support for 911 dispatchers to understand how to utilize the new programs

The Minneapolis Police Department does not treat everyone in the city with dignity and respect. Time and time again it has been proven that MPD discriminates against our Black and Native American neighbors—and we know that is wrong.

It is the City's responsibility to ensure that everyone is treated with fairness by Minneapolis Police and current City leadership has failed to do this.

In recent years Minneapolis taxpayers have had to pay over $70 million dollars in legal payouts stemming from police misconduct. When elected to the City Council, I will be committed to ensuring that officers like Chauvin are removed from the police force before they hurt or kill people. To do that I will:

-Stand up to the Police Federation and demand a police contract that takes officer accountability seriously
-Consistently audit the implementation of the Federal Consent Decree and the State Settlement Agreement to ensure their goals are met
-Require police officers to carry their own professional liability insurance (the City pays the base rate and the officer pays for any additional costs based on their behavior)
-Push for an all-citizen community board that oversees the police department and is empowered to make independent investigations, hand down discipline, and hire/fire officers
-Use the City’s state legislative agenda to push for more state-level accountability, like the creation of an independent body to investigate and prosecute illegal use of force by police

Ward 8 neighbors, renters and homeowners alike, agree that everyone deserves a warm place to sleep at night, dignity in their home, and that communities shouldn’t be torn apart by ever-rising rents, home prices, and taxes on seniors living on a fixed income.

It has become more and more apparent every day that the housing crisis plaguing Minneapolis is multifaceted and requires many different approaches to address it.

I am committed to passing an array of people-centered policies to counteract the housing crisis and keep our communities together:
-Strong Rent Stabilization
I support Framework 5 proposed by the Minneapolis Rent Stabilization Working Group. This includes a 3% cap on annual rent increases, vacancy control, and does not allow for exemptions for newly constructed buildings.
-Create a development board to explore strategies to increase housing production like:
Regulatory and zoning changes to make the process more straightforward. This way more people with building know-how can build in the city
Staff to help guide local developers through the City process
Loan loss reserve to incentivize banks to invest in Minneapolis
Developer fee guarantee to incentivize developers to build in Minneapolis
-Tax assistance to cost-burdened homeowners
Helping seniors and Low-Income homeowners know their options for dealing with increasing property taxes and how to lower or mitigate that bill
Explore options for helping “house rich, cash poor” folks from being displaced
-Making Gentle Density Happen
Current zoning allows for up to triplexes on any lot, but there are a myriad of rules that make ADUs, duplexes, and triplexes infeasible on most lots. Those rules need adjusting so that our neighborhoods can grow incrementally
-Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act
If you are renting and the owner wants to sell the building, you are the first one to get a chance to buy it
The City should partner with Minnesota Housing (the state housing finance agency) to provide real financial pathways for renters to be able to buy their buildings
The City would create and maintain a registry of outside organizations that are qualified to help the building residents with the expertise to buy and maintain their property
-Vacancy Tax
Homes are for people. Investors are buying homes and leaving them vacant as they wait to flip them. This tax will help prevent that
All proceeds from this tax would go towards developing new affordable housing
-Just Cause Evictions
Evictions can be extremely disruptive and are often a direct cause of homelessness. The process of eviction should only be used in specific instances of lease violations or when absolutely necessary. Currently, landlords are legally allowed to evict tenants without a specific cause and are allowed to not renew a lease without having to provide any reasoning.
Just cause for evictions would allow for evictions only for a set of specific reasons and requires landlords to prove they are evicting a tenant for one of the reasons allowed in the policy.
-Housing First for Unhoused Neighbors
We must end our cruel and ineffective policy of sweeping encampments without providing services that individuals experiencing homelessness need to get housed
Housing first is a widely studied and internationally used model of providing housing to individuals experiencing homelessness and then following up with them with other supportive services
When people are forced to sleep on our streets it is not safe for us and it isn’t safe for them, housing first is shown to reduce homelessness rather than just shifting it from neighborhood to neighborhood
-Public Housing Levy
Minneapolis Public Housing is a vital resource for our community. We need a levy to ensure that we can repair and expand the public housing that we already have
-Downtown and Lake Street Land Value Tax Districts
This is a policy that taxes the land rather than buildings. This means that speculators can no longer sit on vacant land at no cost. They must develop it and are incentivized to put as many homes on it as possible.
This means more housing, commercial space, and community spaces that we need
A great example is the Kmart site, it would not have sat so derelict for so long if this system was in place

We are in a climate emergency. The City is responsible for decades and ongoing practices of environmental racism that are causing heightened emergencies in parts of the city.

It is paramount that we address the climate crisis in our public policy in Minneapolis at the scale of the problem.

We must also address the climate crisis while at the same time addressing decades and ongoing practices of environmental racism that primarily impact our Black and Indigenous neighbors in East Phillips and North Minneapolis. We can do both, and there is no time to waste.

-I support the framework of the People’s Climate and Equity Plan
We must urgently transition our buildings, transportation, and electricity to zero-carbon sources
-We need to retool and increase the Pollution Control Annual Registration (PCAR) fee so that polluters are paying for their pollution
That money would be dedicated exclusively to climate adaptation and environmental justice initiatives
-I support the East Phillips Urban Farm
-We must shut down the Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center (HERC) and move towards a true zero-waste model
-We must do all of this while prioritizing a just transition to good-paying union green jobs for fossil fuel and carbon-intensive workers
-I support a Quicker adaptation of rain gardens and shoreline restoration to clean our lakes, rivers, and streams
-I will work towards getting Stormwater guards to keep trash out of our lakes and the Mississippi
-(Also see Transportation)

One of the other fundamental responsibilities of the City is to provide streets that are safe for everyone and won’t damage your car or bike.

The severity of potholes in Ward 8 is unacceptable, particularly on our East-West streets like 35th, 36th, 38th, and 42nd.

Potholes will only get worse with climate change. As a city, we need to make smart investments in rebuilding and repairing our streets in ways that make them safer for everyone, more cost-effective to maintain, and resilient to our changing climate. If elected, I will work towards:

-Adequately funding the public works department
-Exploring the use of permeable pavement as a way of preparing our streets for the effects of climate change
-(Also see Transportation)

We need to plan and implement transformational changes to our transportation system in order to meet our present-day needs.

I believe that our transportation system can improve our quality of life and include safer streets for everyone, success for small businesses, addressing the climate crisis, and can be affordable for Minneapolis families.

As a city councilperson, I will work towards developing a 21st-century transportation system that looks like:

-Street designs that prioritize safety as the top priority
-Sidewalks that are clear and walkable year-round
-Transit that is safe, reliable, fast, clean, and convenient. In order to achieve that we need:
Signal priority for trains and buses
Dedicated transit lanes on major thoroughfares
Explore smart signal lights that respond to waiting walkers, cyclists, transit, and drivers
More greenspace between sidewalks and driving lanes to hold snow and protect people walking
-Public EV charging stations at key destinations
-New plowing practices to prevent creating snow walls in front of alleyways
-High-quality protected bike infrastructure that keeps people cycling and people driving separated and safe

The most important role of a City Council member is to represent the values of the Ward. I know that I can only do that by engaging with constituents in a respectful, consistent, and transparent way.

I pledge to frequently be at community events, respond to constituent calls and emails quickly and respectfully, and to be truthful and open about how I am voting and why.

My plans for constituent services and community engagement are:

-When constituents reach out to my office, they will get a response
-I will hold office hours where people can come and meet with me in the Ward
-I will send a periodic newsletter about news at City Hall and in the Ward
-If possible, I hope to maintain a robust field program to continue doing direct outreach in the ward
-I will maintain active social media pages with updates and news from my office, city hall, and the ward
-I will hold regular meetings with community organizations, unions, and leaders in the community

Three years after George Floyd’s murder, there is still no plan for the Square.

City leadership has failed to do needed community engagement for decisions concerning George Floyd Square.

What is being done now should have happened 2 years ago. City Hall’s lack of energy in meeting the needs of people in and around George Floyd Square or in planning for its future is inexcusable. I will:
-Hold listening sessions for neighbors and businesses in and around George Floyd Square to tell City leaders directly what harm came from George Floyd’s murder and the subsequent City response/lack of response
-Seek funding and work towards trauma care resources for immediate neighbors of George Floyd Square
-Seek ongoing funding, partner with community organizations, and work towards youth programs based in the Square for at-risk Southside youth
-Meet the 24 demands that the City has control over, add the state responsibilities to the legislative agenda, and pass resolutions demanding the rest be met
-Ensure that the property holding the Speedway/People’s Way is built according to community preference and remains in the community’s control
-Provide support for local businesses in the area during construction

This campaign is an affirmation of our shared values that everyone belongs in Minneapolis and that our diversity is our strength. Ward 8 has a proud history of leading on LGBTQ issues that I will continue.

Ward 8 believes that no matter what religion you are, you should be able to fully participate in our democracy.

It is on our City leadership to accommodate our Muslim neighbors’ sacred days just like we do for other religious groups. LGBTQ, disabled, and BIPOC people are disproportionately impacted by housing insecurity, racism, and domestic violence. I am deeply committed to working towards a city that has meaningful antiracist programs that address those issues. That includes transformational change in comprehensive public safety, police accountability, and housing.

Some of my priorities will be:
-Make sure the Office of Racial Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging is funded
-Free menstrual products in City buildings
-Hold monthly meetings with the trans-equity council
-LGBTQ inclusive healthcare directory that is kept up to date
-Pilot a basic income program that is BIPOC and trans-specific

Every neighborhood should be represented by an adequately resourced neighborhood group. These groups can be very effective in dealing with local issues in neighborhoods across the city like improving the quality of housing, block-level public safety, sidewalk shoveling, and business revitalization. I support keeping these groups funded and will:
-Ensure that dedicated funds are set aside for neighborhood organizations
-Partner with neighborhood organizations openly and transparently to carry out communication functions between neighbors and the City
-Help neighborhoods pilot projects like sidewalk plowing, block-level safety, and food insecurity initiatives
-Make sure that Open Streets events continue and expand, including bringing back Open Streets Nicollet

Ward 8 neighbors expect that their City Council person will craft policies and programs, address neighborhood issues, have a say in political appointees, and audit the City government. Current City leadership has used the strong mayor charter amendment to weaken the ability of the City Council to represent their constituents. That is not right and it is not what the people intended when the charter amendment passed. I believe that The City Council must be able to:
-Craft its own policies independently of the Mayor’s office
-Approve or deny political appointments
-Audit/investigate City departments
-Craft and amend the City budget
-The Board of Estimates and Taxation needs to have a full-time financial analyst that is hired and managed by that board independent of the City Council and the Mayor’s office

Unions and the Labor movement are crucial to thriving communities, racial equity, and building prosperity.

I support all workers seeking to form or join a union, worker centers that advocate for essential worker protections, and overall the labor movement in Minneapolis.

I do not consider MPD or any police union to be a part of the vision of the labor movement, and will not collaborate with police or police unions in any way. On the City Council, I will:
-Support public sector workers that are employed by the City by refusing any contract that is opposed by unions (except for the Police Federation), and will seek out more ways to support workers that are employed by the city in between contract cycles as well.
-Join workers on the picket line
-Use my voice and power on the council to advocate for workers' needs and rights
-Fund co-enforcement for wage theft (find and prosecute companies stealing wages)
-Support a labor standards board
-Meet regularly with workers in Ward 8, union leaders, and labor movement organizers in order to listen directly to those with experience about the issues most impacting working people
-Explore more ways to use licensing and collaborate with other city departments in order to hold companies accountable for labor violations and find new ways to support and protect workers
-Not approve city funding for development projects in Ward 8 that would be carried out by non-union construction

High-quality public schools are the foundation of a successful community and a decent society. I am committed to supporting our students and teachers at every turn. I believe that the City Council’s primary role in supporting our schools is to create the conditions in the city where people want to start and raise families here. This includes:
-Affordable family-sized homes
-Safe streets
-Financial support for our public schools
-I pledge not to spend City money on new charter schools