Everything starts at home. We have a housing challenge because the math doesn’t work; we have more households than units. Saint Paul can, and should, continue to invest in the creation of more housing, and more types of housing, everywhere.

I support affordable, stable housing for everyone in Saint Paul - this includes rental and ownership housing. People who want to buy their first home should be able to do so in Saint Paul; and people who want to rent or downsize, should have options that meet their needs and hopes, too. 

In order to achieve the vision above, we need a values-based approach to ensuring households have stable housing and more local investment in housing creation in Saint Paul. As a starting point, I support the Mayor’s proposal on Rent Stabilization modifications to encourage more private investment in housing and the combined effort to advance more tenants’ protections, rights, and education. More work is needed to create policies that support local ownership and long term affordability.   

We need to ensure we’re protecting Saint Paul’s most vulnerable to housing instability. I support building on Councilmember Mitra Jalali’s efforts to create a Tenant’s Bill of Rights and educating all renters of their options and rights. 

Solving our housing challenges will take many people working together. Partnerships between the city, county, state, nonprofit providers, and neighborhood engagement are critical to building a housing ecosystem that works for everyone in Saint Paul. I have these relationships already, know how to build new ones, and have experience building coalitions to move work forward. I will be ready to pursue and advance partnerships on day one.

Everyone has the right to feel safe in their neighborhood. To feel safe utilizing our public transportation, parks, libraries, schools, and attending events in our communities. 

Saint Paul and Ramsey County have done incredible work on this vision already. We should celebrate the work to get us to where we are and continue to invest in this work. We need to invest in the people who help keep our community spaces safe, this includes our neighborhood leaders, social workers and mental health providers, and our police, fire and emergency medical teams. 

Upholding and replicating ways to foster deeper connection between police and community and giving everyone the tools they need to partner together to build safe communities. 

Continue celebrating and supporting community-first public safety initiatives that are already working, including our violence intervention and grief responder programs. 

Creating safe modes of transportation is imperative. I support a safe, connected, multi-modal transportation system in our community. Including better facilities for biking, walking, driving, or public transportation.

I will work on this community challenge with care and compassion, and show a deep commitment to loving our neighbors.

I would work towards the creation of an Expert Panel that would help the various bodies of government work together to develop programs and services that tackle this challenge. The Expert Panel would include people who are in recovery, and center their voices, in this work. This panel would develop recommendations that center human dignity and meet community-identified needs.

Overall, this is a complex issue that needs a committed coalition at every level of government. We need to stop pointing fingers, and work together to come up with a comprehensive approach that responds to urgent needs and long-term change. 

Saint Paul has been and can continue to be an economically vibrant hub in Minnesota. We are known for some of the nation’s strongest and most diverse business communities and we should continue to invest in our entrepreneurs and locally-owned businesses. We need to be a City where any resident feels confident they can start their business here and have the support of their neighborhood and city.

Strengthen partnerships with Ramsey County to invest economic development funds in Saint Paul’s thriving commercial corridors. And celebrate the global nature of our business communities. 

Double down on things that already work, like the Neighborhood Development Center Promise Act Program focused on supporting and developing small businesses owned and led by Black, Indigenous, and People Color. 

Saint Paul needs a thriving downtown; we need to treat the decline of our downtown areas as an emergency and consider ways to grow economic and housing development in the core of our community. Let’s build a downtown that rises to the vision and call of a Capitol City. 

We need to relieve the property tax burden on homeowners and explore other ways to spur development of vacant land. Utilizing a land-value tax model can support our goals of investing in community, building an economic engine, and addressing vacant property concerns. 

Saint Paul isn’t getting what it puts into the Local Government Aid program, and we can’t afford to continue that; it’s not equitable and it’s uneconomical. 

Go Loons! Investment in the United Village is important; we welcome investment as a way to grow our tax base, while ensuring people can continue to afford to live in this neighborhood. We need to build more economic hubs throughout the city to encourage more spaces where people can live, play, and work within a short walking distance.

As a leader responsible for managing a complex budget that includes state, federal, and philanthropic contracts, I understand that budgets are value statements. I know the importance of financial stability, diverse revenue sources, and supporting the people who do the work. I know how to negotiate contracts, and lead to build supportive work environments.  

Our city’s financial stability is critical to our goals and long-term vision. I know how to manage financial complexities and how to make tough financial choices, while valuing the people and centering the goals.

Kimball Court: The City, Beacon Interfaith Housing, and Avivo are working together to remedy immediate concerns, while investing in longer-term solutions that include accountability metrics, and center our shared values. (Follow along here: https://www.beaconinterfaith.org/blog/beacon-news/kimball-court-update-august-2024/)

We need to fully invest in our Parks & Recreation programming, including building partnerships between our Parks & Rec staff and the Schools. 

Strong libraries create strong communities. Saint Paul should continue to fund all of our libraries and support them as community hubs. 

University Connections: Saint Paul is home to some of the best educational institutions in the US. We can work together to improve our partnerships with our universities; demonstrating the value the City brings to the educational system, and vice versa. I will seek ways to build bridges and partnerships, while advancing livability for all Saint Paul residents. Replicating the Good Neighbor Fund at the University of Minnesota, is one idea I have for building this connection. I look forward to thinking creatively with the community on these partnerships.