Vision

As your Council woman I believe that regardless of our income, we all deserve safe and stable housing that we can afford—no exceptions. A stable home should not be a luxury. But as the cost of living rises, many people in our city are struggling to afford their lives. Minneapolis renters are burdened by soaring rents. Rising interest rates and the cost of homes have created barriers to homeownership. Not only is the rising cost of living too expensive for new homeowners to buy a home, but current homeowners (especially those on fixed incomes) are feeling the impact. This disproportionately impacts our Black, Brown, Indigenous, disabled, and working neighbors and families. At the local level, the goal is to continue to be responsive and creative in making housing affordable and possible, whether you are a homeowner or renter. 

If re-elected, I will:

• Continue expanding homeownership opportunities, especially for working families 

• Build partnerships to bring a much needed affordable senior housing project to the 12th Ward

• Look towards the future of housing and create a locally owned social housing program– where the City will develop, own, and manage housing units to create more truly affordable housing, without relying on multinational corporations and investors 

• Work to remove zoning restrictions that make it harder to build mixed-income housing. 

• Change Land Use Policy to create wider availability of Accessory Dwelling Units. This creates more affordable housing availability for middle and lower-income residents, and will provide homes for our seniors who are in need of care and want to be close to their loved ones.

• Advocate for the creation of more quality public housing that can directly serve people who are unhoused and have been on the public housing waitlist.

• Continue working with Minneapolis Public Schools and Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to provide resources for families experiencing homelessness. 

We all deserve to feel safe in our neighborhoods, schools, and homes. For too long, public safety in our city has felt disjointed, stretched thin, and focused on reacting to crime as opposed to preventing it. We deserve a fully-funded public safety system that unequivocally works for all of us. Our community wants a system built around culturally competent mental health response, violence prevention, and de-escalation. This will allow the city to respond to emergency calls quickly and efficiently. Every community deserves quality public safety services. 

We can establish programs that prevent auto-theft, invest in youth programming, and get serious about ending gun violence in our communities. We must build a public safety system that is comprehensive, resourced, and rooted in community. 

If re-elected, I will:

• Continue to expand the successful 24/7 Behavioral Crisis Response team to a stand-alone department.

• Ensure Law Enforcement is able to address high-priority emergency calls quickly and effectively. 

• Reinvigorate block captain programs by working with violence prevention specialists to give neighbors tools to help prevent crime, keep their blocks safe, and build a system where block captains are able to actively communicate with the City of Minneapolis. 

• Host more community meetings on public safety, and more personal safety trainings to help neighbors work with public safety officials, and support their blocks in becoming more resilient, connected, and safe.

• Support and provide greater oversight on the implementation and outcomes of Violence Prevention Programs such as Violence Interrupters and Youth Group Violence Intervention.

• Address gun violence by implementing a local safe storage requirement. 

• Continue supporting common sense efforts to bring our police staffing numbers up to the mandatory minimum levels to meet the demand of 911 calls in Minneapolis. 

• Collaborate with neighborhood associations, community leaders, and block club leaders to ensure our ward receives funding opportunities for violence prevention.

As your Councilwoman, I will continue to push the City of Minneapolis to develop a short term, midterm, and long term plan to address homelessness and unsheltered homelessness in our City through a multi-jurisdictional approach. We know that encampments are not a safe or dignified place for anyone to live or live nearby, and we know The City's current practice of evicting encampments is not only inhumane, but does not solve the issue, and instead just moves the encampment another block over. The status quo is preventing us from doing the real work of reducing homelessness.

Human dignity, the safety of our unhoused residents, and a public health lens must always be at the center of our approach. It should focus on healthcare and social services, a bridge to stable housing, mental health support, chemical dependency treatment, and storage of personal belongings.  Our solution to homelessness cannot rely on mass incarceration, over-policing, and criminalization– because, ultimately, these are not solutions and instead exacerbate socioeconomic hardship that can last for generations. 

The challenges we face are complex, but not impossible to solve. In Hennepin County, veteran homelessness has virtually ended. This shows that, yes, we CAN significantly reduce unsheltered homelessness. I have been a leader on this issue in my short time as your Council Member, and I intend to continue leading with you in the years to come. 

If re-elected, I will:

• Create a standard operating procedure for a municipal encampment response that the City takes to remove encampments through a just transition that is rooted in care and service provision. This includes: 

  • Proper notice of encampment removal 

  • Providing Storage for belongings and adequate time to move 

  • Ensuring that unhoused residents maintain relationships with their service providers 

  • Notifying and working with service providers

  • Having Behavioral Crisis Response on-site to assist with the process.

• Ensure that while the encampment is present, there is trash pick-up, porta potties, and handwashing stations to maintain the safety and health of unhoused residents and neighboring housed residents alike. 

• Advocate for a multi-jurisdictional approach to make short-term and long-term plans for preventing and reducing homelessness.

• Establish a second Avivo Village Tiny Homes on the Southside of Minneapolis where the need is the greatest.

• Build out a plan with government partners to establish an indoor navigation center to help unhoused people feel cared for and create the conditions for them to access housing resources, legal help, medically assisted treatment, rehab, and other social services in a place that has their trust and is a one stop shop for help through the continuum of care. 

• Create an ordinance to legalize regulated outdoor spaces and micro-communities for individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness, providing healthy and securely staffed environments.

• Work to develop pathways for economic mobility and address poverty at the local level

Minneapolis is a city of renters with different stories, jobs, and family types, and they are all a part of our community. People who rent deserve a safe, affordable, and accessible place to reside where they can live their best lives without fear of displacement, economic distress, or negligence. Renters deserve to be able to save money and move into homeownership if they so choose. Renters deserve to be reflected in our local policy and participate actively in our community.

As your Council Member I will: 

• Pass a Just Cause Notice of Ending Tenancy policy to protect renters against predatory evictions by preventing landlords from unilaterally terminating or attempting to terminate the tenancy of any tenant unless the landlord can prove in court that just cause exists. 

• Improve existing regulatory services so inspections of problem properties are more efficient and move away from a complaint-based process. 

• Work with housing partners to educate people who rent on ways to prevent evictions. 

• Pass policy that makes it possible for tenants to purchase their homes in order to preserve affordability and prevent displacement.

• Continue to support funding legal right to counsel to ensure all residents can access legal representation when facing evictions.

Local businesses are a part of the fabric of our culture and give our neighborhoods their identity. As a member of the Business, Housing, and Zoning committee, I know that they deserve our support and investment. It has been a priority of mine to build relationships with local businesses, highlight their successes, help them solve day-to-day issues, and make sure that our budgets and policy reflects their needs. 

As Minneapolis continues to progress from the shadow of the pandemic, local businesses should be given all the tools necessary to flourish, and our commercial corridors should be fertile ground for new local business. Economic development helps our neighborhoods, and on the Southside it is a community effort. We have made a dramatic impact in a short time, but there is still so much work to do. 

If re-elected, I will:

• Implement Great Streets designation for Minnehaha Avenue  and 38th Street to open up access to support, city investment, and promotion of small businesses along the corridor. Especially to support our BIPOC Businesses and businesses dedicated towards giving back to the community.

• Collaborate with local business owners and property managers to begin forming a special service district for the 46th and Hiawatha Area to support livability and beautification improvements.

• Deliver on a community hub and Election Voter Services center at 3000 Minnehaha (old third precinct) to revitalize and bring new energy to the gateway of Downtown Longfellow. 

• Continue working with organizations like Lake Street Council, Longfellow Rising, and Longfellow Business Association to rebuild Lake Street and the Longfellow area. 

• Support expansions of the Commercial Property Development Fund program. This will help secure funding to activate vacant properties, rebuild commercial properties that need improvement, and add more liveliness and connection to our beloved corridors. 

• Work with small business teams to connect with local businesses and educate them on resources available to them, such as the Facade Improvement Grant, Construction Hardship Forgivable Loans, and other technical assistance. 

• Continue to regularly meet with business owners in Ward 12 and build relationships with business owners I have not yet met.

Minneapolis residents deserve a climate champion that will fight for clean air, energy, and water for generations to come. Local governments must lead the way and work hand-in-hand with state and federal leaders to achieve strong climate resilience goals. The harmful effects of climate change have a devastating impact on Black, Brown, Indigenous, and working-class people, and our voices must be at the center of our work. We can have a City that invests in a strong walk, bike, and transit infrastructure; pushes for policies that will get us to net neutral carbon emissions; increase renewable energy resources; and delivers an equitable green economy.

If re-elected, I will:

• Continue working to improve the Green Cost Share Program so more residents can take collective action to prevent climate change. Residents will receive matching funds for energy efficiency, solar, pollution reduction, and environmental projects. 

• Reduce pollution by investing in tree canopies, home and small business energy efficiency programs, and solar gardens.

• Continue supporting the Peoples’ Climate and Equity Plan

  • Guarantee affordable and carbon-free buildings for all of Minneapolis by 2030.

  • Reduce the racial wealth gap by creating jobs in the growing green economy.

  • Work to ensure every person has a safe, healthy and climate-resilient neighborhood connected by accessible and carbon-free transportation.

  • Enact a City dedicated fund to ensure bold climate justice.

As your Council Member I will:

• Work with the Minneapolis Labor Relations Director on the MPD Union Contract to eliminate the cooling-off period, the past practices clause, and coaching. These are extraneous parts of the contract that have become a proven barrier to creating accountability in the City’s Police Department.

• Continue to strengthen the Community Commission on Police Oversight as the City works through the State Consent Decree.

• Hold management (the Mayor of Minneapolis and the Police Chief) accountable for executing their role in enforcing discipline and upholding policies that govern the police department.

• Leverage my status as a councilmember to implement the State Consent Decree to reform the Minneapolis Police Department, while keeping the community informed of every step in the process. A consent decree is a court enforceable document that resulted from State and Federal investigations that found the Minneapolis Police Department in violation of the law. Learn more below.

***Information on the Minnesota Department Human Rights and Department of Justice investigations and Consent Decree:***

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights Report and The Department of Justice Report clearly lay out that MPD has a pattern and practice of engaging in: race-based policing; violations of constitutional rights like protected speech; uses of unjustified and deadly force; and has engaged in policing that discriminates against people with behavioral mental health issues. 

There are court enforceable documents on the City of Minneapolis and MPD called “Consent Decrees” that are binding agreements from the State Government. These agreements mandate the City of Minneapolis (City) and Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) to make transformational changes to the MPD and offer remedial solutions. This is a result of violations of State, Federal, and Constitutional law. 

You can read more about the consent decrees & MDHR & DOJ Reports

• Minnesota Department of Human Rights (MDHR)  MPD Investigation Findings

• Department of Justice MPD (DOJ)  Investigation Findings

• Department of Justice MPD Investigation Press Release

• Information on MDHR Consent Decree Factsheet & Timeline

I am committed to keeping my office responsive and proactive in the needs of Ward 12.  I have been a strong steward of our taxpayer dollars to ensure that we spend wisely and that we focus on giving back to the community. I have leveraged my relationships to work with our partners at the federal, state, county, parks, and school levels to move our values to action. And I will continue keeping all of you informed of what is happening at City Hall, and bringing you to the table to make the decisions that are best for Ward 12.

If re-elected, I will:

• Continue my robust and transparent accountability process with my constituents and community.

• Work to find new, more effective channels of communication and feedback with my constituents.

• Strengthen my relationships at the federal, state, county, parks, and school level to ensure we are protecting and preserving the rights and needs of every resident.

It is my goal as your Councilmember to work directly with constituents with disabilities to learn what needs aren’t being met by the city, create a more accessible Ward 12 office, and learn as much as I can to make decisions with the experiences of having disabilities in mind.

If re-elected, I will:

• Incentivize buildings to update to be ADA Compliant. Currently, there are many public and private buildings that will remain non-ADA compliant and only make changes if they are facing legal action from a disabled person. We can change this by proactively offering some form of incentive to building owners to meet ADA compliance standards sooner.

• Add audible crosswalk signals to more intersections.

• Improve sidewalks and curb cuts to make them more accessible and safer for people with mobility devices.

• Improve the City of Minneapolis Emergency Preparedness Plan to ensure there is a plan in place to help safely evacuate people with disabilities, and provide accessible emergency shelters for residents.

• Advocate to improve Metro Mobility through my relationship with Hennepin County.

We need to support our seniors in aging with dignity, connecting to our multigenerational community, and ensuring that they get quality public services. We need to invest in our seniors today, and continue investing for the generations to come. 

If re-elected, I will:

•  Improve and work to increase the number of healthy housing options for Seniors as they age. 

•  Strengthen multi-modal transportation options to meet the needs seniors have and tailor options for them. 

• Expand health and wellness initiatives and services. I hope to continue working with organizations like Nokomis Healthy Seniors .

• Improve city information distribution and continue the annual Senior Resource Fair.

• Advocate for ways for local governments to lift financial burdens off of Seniors with fixed incomes.

Ward 12 has an abundance of parks and beautiful green spaces that everyone deserves to enjoy. I am proud to be endorsed by Park Board Commissioners Becky Alper and Tom Olson. Building a climate-resilient city is a top priority of mine, and maintaining our parks and natural systems is key to addressing our climate concerns. 

If re-elected, I will:

• Continue allocating funds to our parks and natural ecosystems.

• Help foster stronger relationships between the School Board and Parks Board to create programming to support low-income families.

• Continue fighting against privatization of green spaces that make Minneapolis such a great place to be

• Continue being a reliable partner and advocate at the City level to our Parks and Recreations board and community members.