Priorities
For a bright future for Saint Paul and all Minnesotans.
Public Safety & Crime Prevention
Public safety is not just a single issue. It is a combination of both government-led and community-based efforts that promote safe and stable neighborhoods.
Affordable Housing
Stable, affordable housing is harder to come by for our community and we must focus our energy on investing in affordable housing that serves families in our city.
Supporting Small Business & Job Creation
As a small business owner who chose to raise my family in this community, I know first hand how important small businesses are to this community.
Climate Justice & Environmental Stewardship
Climate change is an existential threat to humanity. It affects every single one of us, whether we acknowledge that fact or not.
Education
From early childhood education through high school and beyond, we must stand with and support those who nurture and instruct our children.
Early Childhood Education
The best way we can prepare our children for success is to ensure that every neighborhood has fully-funded, quality schools.
Reproductive Rights
I believe that anyone capable of conceiving and carrying a child has the right to decide what is best for their health and well-being.
Healthcare & Health Insurance
All Minnesotans deserve access to quality, affordable healthcare services to support their physical and mental well-being—without going bankrupt.
Gun Violence Prevention
Minnesotans deserve a thoughtful approach to how we keep our communities safe that combines respect for gun ownership and accountability for gun safety.
Public Safety & Crime Prevention
Public safety is not just a single issue. It is a combination of both government-led and community-based efforts that promote safe and stable neighborhoods.
It is also an issue of trust—trust that has been badly frayed in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd and the deaths of Daunte Wright and Amir Locke. Police brutality against Black people and communities of color is unacceptable and must end.
People are worried about the increase in local crime, too. Vandalism, carjackings, thefts, and the reckless use of firearms have left community members frustrated.
While a police response may be appropriate in all of these situations, not all emergencies are best served by dispatching law enforcement. We need a combination of strategies and investments to ensure the public is safe and protected in our neighborhoods.
We must take advantage of our existing emergency services infrastructure to diversify the resources available to those in need, from dispatching mediation specialists to crisis housing connectors to trained youth workers.
By identifying and responding to the root causes of crime, we can avoid unnecessarily filling our courts and jails and establish a holistic approach to public safety where police are no longer the only tool in our toolbox.
As your legislator, I will:
Expand resources available for proactive, community-led crime prevention programs
Increase police accountability through implementing measures recommended by local and national experts
Strengthen the training requirements for police officers through the Department of Public Safety and Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Board
Push for legislation that would empower civilian police oversight boards to make findings of fact related to police conduct complaints, and, where misconduct is found, impose sanctions or make enforceable recommendations
Advocate for divestment from police to other crisis services where appropriate, establishing a holistic and integrated 911 response model that involves law enforcement, mental health professionals, emergency medical services, and social workers
Strengthen common-sense gun violence prevention laws and seek greater compliance and enforcement of existing regulations
Affordable Housing
Housing is a human right.
Stable, affordable housing is harder to come by for our community and we must focus our energy on investing in affordable housing that serves families in our city. Expanding the number of affordable housing units available is critical to addressing the current crisis.
We need to preserve the current stock of affordable housing options while also partnering with the City of Saint Paul and Ramsey County to identify new projects that can and will include housing that serves all income levels in our community.
We must look for proactive ways to collaborate with developers to ensure affordable housing is created in all areas of our community.
As your legislator, I will:
Demand that state bonding dollars increase the amount we invest in housing across the state
Work with renters to ensure they are treated fairly by landlords and that protections already in law are enforced
Create more public-private partnerships to ensure our community can bring more affordable housing online with the new rent control measures in place in Saint Paul
Supporting Small Business & Creating Jobs
Our community has been hit hard by a pandemic and civil unrest after the murder of George Floyd. As a small business owner who chose to raise my family in this community, I know first hand how important small businesses are to this community. They provide jobs that put food on the table, pay for housing and ensure families have economic stability.
As your legislator, I will:
Secure more investment in the University Avenue corridor that was hit hard by civil unrest. While an initial investment was made, we know more is needed to ensure this critical economic corridor can continue to rebuild
Fight on behalf of workers to ensure they have safe, secure and fair working conditions. Some of the largest companies in this country continue to employ our community members in conditions that are not safe for workers
Demand that big corporations pay their fair share. Minnesota has long been a state that ensured those who are most successful share their success by investing in schools, transit, roads and other critical infrastructure that our community depends on for success
Climate Justice & Environmental Stewardship
Climate change is an existential threat to humanity. It affects every single one of us, whether we acknowledge that fact or not.
Our planet continues to experience greater extremes each year – higher highs and lower lows; hundred-year floods and droughts happening with alarming regularity; and storms that continue to set new records of death and destruction.
These extremes are already impacting Minnesotans in very real ways. Farmers are finding it increasingly difficult to supply the food we consume, extreme heat puts strain on our aging electrical grid, and prolonged sub-zero cold snaps are making Minnesota winters more challenging than ever.
Climate change is a very real danger to basic human needs - clean water, safe and sustainable food sources, permanent shelter, and breathable air. We have a moral obligation, to each other and to future generations, to tackle climate change head-on.
Minnesota is already set up for success when it comes to being a leader on climate change, and it is up to our state government to make sure we are at the forefront of progressive climate action.
As your legislator, I will:
Work with environmental experts to establish climate resiliency/environmental impact success metrics for statewide use
Push for greater renewable energy and green material requirements for new public works and construction projects
Seek to equitably expand access to public and green transit options
Ensure that corporations are held accountable for violations of environmental protection laws and standards
Work closely with organized labor to provide appropriate support to those in the legacy power industry as Minnesota transitions to a green energy economy
Advocate for a more educational and incentive-based model for promoting public and private environmental stewardship
Partner with our congressional delegation to source and allocate federal funding for environmental initiatives and increased protection of our precious green spaces and waterways
Education
Quality education starts with quality educators. From early childhood education through high school and beyond, we must stand with and support those who nurture and instruct our children.
Teachers are so much more than mere conveyors of knowledge—they are advocates, counselors, coaches, caretakers, and mentors. Their work extends far beyond the classroom. They are dedicated professionals who have an enormous influence on who our children become, and they should be treated accordingly.
If we want to attract the best teachers in the country to build the best schools in the country, we must pay and support them appropriately. Salaries and benefits must be increased, along with in-classroom support and effective professional development.
Our teachers and educational support staff have been overextended for far too long—well before the COVID-19 pandemic. It is past time to recognize educators as the extraordinary resource they are.
As your legislator, I will:
Seek to fully fund public education in Minnesota
Increase funding specifically for early childhood education, including need-based subsidies for childcare and transportation
Advocate for community-based and culturally-competent educational programs for children of all ages
Champion full-service community schools that support students and their families, in and outside of the classroom
Early Childhood Education
Every child in Minnesota deserves a strong start in life. The best way we can prepare our children for success is to ensure that every neighborhood has fully-funded, quality schools and that our educators have ample resources to build and maintain a thriving educational community.
Our children are our future. If we do not equip them with the tools they require to be lifelong learners, we fail them. And as we refuse to correct this systemic problem, we will continue to fail them.
I want every child in Minnesota to have access to high-quality early learning and childcare programs that have been proven to prepare them for kindergarten and beyond. We must do everything possible to help them develop the skills they will need for a lifetime of success and personal growth.
Access to world-class early learning and childcare should not be considered a luxury for American families - it is a fundamental necessity that should be available to every child.
As your legislator, I will:
Increase funding specifically for early childhood education, including need-based subsidies for childcare and transportation
Advocate for community-based and culturally-competent educational programs for children of all ages
Champion full-service community schools that support students and their families, in and outside of the classroom
Reproductive Rights
It has happened.
The Supreme Court of the United States has taken away a fundamental right that has been the law of the land for nearly 50 years, something that has never before happened in our nation’s history.
I am speaking about a woman’s right to choose to have an abortion without interference from the government.
In two of the most famous cases the Court has ever decided, Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, justices from across the political spectrum and appointed by presidents of both parties found that there is a fundamental right to privacy in a woman’s decision to terminate a pregnancy.
The writing has been on the wall for many years: a bedrock tactic of the conservative movement in America has been to educate, recruit, and appoint anti-choice judges. Multiple states have enacted severe restrictions or outright bans on a woman’s right to choose without fear of being stopped by the courts—and that number is growing fast. Now the Supreme Court has a six-member conservative majority that has taken away a woman’s right to choose across the country.
I believe that anyone capable of conceiving and carrying a child has the right to decide what is best for their own health and well-being. If that means terminating a pregnancy before viability, I respect that as a private matter between an individual and their doctor.
Roe v. Wade has been settled law for decades, and to strike it down not only puts abortion access in jeopardy for millions of Americans but casts a shadow over other rights that are grounded in that same privacy interest. This includes the right to use birth control and the right to marry the person you love regardless of their gender, gender identity, or skin color.
I stand with Governor Walz on this issue: I will not support bans or new restrictions on abortion access in Minnesota.
As your legislator, I will:
Do everything in my power to protect a woman’s right to choose
Support legislation that empowers women to make safe, informed choices about their own health
Promote unbiased, comprehensive, age-appropriate sex education in our schools so that our children are equipped to make good choices about sexual activity
Support safe-haven legislation that protects women traveling to Minnesota from another state to receive abortion care
Ensure that women are medically cared for no matter what decision they make about a pregnancy.
Require continued coverage of abortion and abortion-related costs for low-income women enrolled in Minnesota Medical Assistance (MA)
Trust women
Healthcare & Health Insurance
All Minnesotans deserve access to quality, affordable healthcare services to support their physical and mental well-being—without going bankrupt.
During the pandemic, nearly 13,000 Minnesotans died from COVID complications. Thousands more have been temporarily or permanently disabled, with the impacts of long COVID still unknown. The mental health impact of COVID and the stress of the pandemic continue to affect nearly every community.
While COVID has ravaged our state, other healthcare issues have continued. Too many Minnesotans are uninsured or underinsured—an issue with tangible, life-altering consequences. Unaffordable healthcare has led to untreated injuries, illnesses, and mental health problems. Individuals choose to forgo needed medical help because of the daunting expense. No one should be unable to obtain the care and services they need because they cannot afford it.
Further, the geographic, racial and ethnic disparities that Minnesotans experience in accessing healthcare every day in our state are documented and unacceptable. Minnesota hit a historical low in insured people in 2021, with racial, sexual, and gender minorities as the least insured. The disparities among these minority communities continue to increase.
Expanding MinnesotaCare is essential to ensure equal and comprehensive coverage to all Minnesota citizens regardless of their financial standing. No one should be deprived of a fundamental need because they cannot afford it. MinnesotaCare expansion would act as a defense against exploitation by private hospitals and drug companies by granting the state the ability to negotiate for lower prices directly with pharmaceutical and healthcare organizations.
Our first step to ending injustices in healthcare is to fully fund MinnesotaCare and give everyone a real opportunity to obtain necessary and affordable health coverage. Healthcare is a human right, and I will fight to lower costs, increase the number of people insured, and to establish a single-payer system.
As your legislator, I will:
Fight to expand MinnesotaCare
Push for a single-payer system
Negotiate for lower pharmaceutical prices
Work to erase racial, sexual, and gender-based discrimination in healthcare
Gun Violence Prevention
America was in the middle of an epidemic long before COVID-19 arrived.
Among developed countries, America has the highest rate of gun violence with approximately 4 gun deaths per 100,000 people. We are on par with nations like Uruguay, Argentina, and my native Somalia.
In fact, we are far closer in gun deaths per capita to the Palestinian Territories (4.7) than we are to Cyprus—number two in per capita gun deaths among economically developed countries with a rate of 0.682.
Many of our country’s horrible gun tragedies could have been avoided simply with the passage of common-sense gun reform measures. Just a few years ago, a mass shooter killed 5 people at a clinic in Buffalo, Minnesota. The shooter had a permit to carry the handgun used in the shooting despite his criminal past, several restraining orders, and threats he had made against the clinic. And he is not the only person who has been able to commit horrendous acts by getting through loopholes or inaction by law enforcement agencies.
This tragedy, like those in Uvalde, Highland Park, and so many more, could have been stopped with simple measures like enhancing background checks, enacting strict red flag laws, funding mental health help in schools and perhaps most crucially, increasing the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21 in the state of Minnesota.
Minnesotans deserve a thoughtful approach to how we keep our communities safe that combines respect for gun ownership and accountability for gun safety. As more and more tragedies occur across the U.S., I want to be certain that we do our best to prevent any more from occurring in our great state.
As your legislator I will:
Sponsor legislation that will increase the minimum age to purchase firearms to 21
Work with fellow legislators to pass red flag laws that will help limit at-risk individuals from obtaining firearms
Obtain dedicated funding for public schools for robust mental health resources
Sponsor legislation like HF4014 (Section 18) to make the manufacture, sale, purchase, or possession of ghost guns a felony under Minnesota law
Strengthen common-sense gun violence prevention laws and seek greater compliance and enforcement of existing regulations