On The Issues

As someone who understands the ins and outs of our public safety system, I am excited to dig into the legislative issues that will help keep our communities safe. I have served as a Chisago County Sheriff’s Deputy and – in White Bear Lake – as a Reserve Officer, a Reserve Sergeant, and a 911 Dispatcher. Each role has unique demands and deserves our support and more resources.

I am a firm believer that public safety is a partnership between public safety agencies and community members.

We need to invest in public safety, add resources for emergency mental health services, and continually reimagine new ways to safely serve the community. We cannot forget to provide support to first responders who suffer serious mental health conditions because of the trauma faced every day on the job. We need to take care of those who serve so they can safely take care of us. 

Demands and costs for disability service providers have increased year after year while many nonprofit and public organizations struggle to find employees, pay fair wages, and keep their doors open. Group homes have closed, and we are nearing a true crisis.

We must prioritize the professionals involved in Direct Support to provide services based on our neighbors’ needs. We must do more to ensure our neighbors with disabilities are not just surviving, but thriving.

The impacts of climate change can be seen all around us. Minnesota has experienced droughts, followed by excessively strong storms, milder winters, and erratic temperature swings. Charting a way forward to tackle these issues in an equitable way is extremely important.

We need to ensure business owners can rely on predictable seasons and weather and support our families who are asked to pay exorbitant energy bills.

I support bold efforts to reduce pollution and increase clean, sustainable, and renewable resources. We need to protect communities from devastating storms, pollution and weather-related price spikes for food. 

Each day that passes without making headway toward a healthier planet is another lost opportunity to protect our future.

Our local public education system deserves our full-throated support. While the Legislature could not come together to spend some of our budget surplus on education this year, we have an extraordinary opportunity to improve and support our educators and students to prepare our young neighbors for the jobs and economy of the future. 

Our teachers are formative in building the community, and they have been tasked with far more than lesson planning and instruction. It's time to recognize the many hats teachers wear and give them the support they deserve.

Individual rights that we have had for 50 years are now no longer guaranteed. The Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade is a devastating step backward in reproductive rights.

I want to assure you that I will never stop fighting to protect Minnesotans’ rights. The right to bodily autonomy gave us the option to decide if and when to procreate, and gave us the right to access safe health care.

Being pro-choice is not the same as being pro-abortion. I support each person's right to access safe reproductive health services if they so choose. As a future state legislator, it will never be my place to make personal decisions for our community. 

Your body is your business, and I will fight to protect it.

Mental health is just as important as physical health.

The pandemic and our political situation has helped to reveal the vast need our state has for better, more affordable mental health care options. As someone with personal experience dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from a job, I know how important it is to make this care affordable and accessible.

Our system does not work when everyday folks cannot afford necessary health care, when you cannot find therapists that fit your personal experience, and when appointments are backed up months-and-months.

We must continue the momentum, shed the stigma, and increase access to mental health support for all Minnesotans.

We need to continually evaluate systemic obstacles. Shared prosperity is impossible without preserving human dignity.

Equal rights, fair pay, and protection from discrimination are vital to ensuring all Minnesotans have access to successful, meaningful lives. Racial disparities existed and continue to persist because of decisions made in the past that resonate with decisions being made today. 

We cannot turn away from our history in order to achieve racial equity. We must do more to increase access to reliable and affordable transportation, make it easier for people with served sentences to gain employment, support programs for the trades and higher education, reduce the cost of childcare for working families, and ensure access to affordable housing in suburban areas. 

As a legislator, you can count on me to fight for equity in a way that increases our shared prosperity and works toward eliminating the many disparities in our systems.

Hardworking Minnesotans keep our state running and deserve our strong support. I support the reinvigorated worker’s rights and unionization movement to ensure fairness and dignity in the workplace. 

Employers are in the middle of a tight labor market crunch and one of the best ways to support them is to invest in our state’s workers and preserve the gains they have made. This includes supporting prevailing wage laws and enforcement, ensuring wage theft perpetrators are held accountable, and better balancing worker power with employer power.

I also support greater benefits to provide a solid floor for our neighbors and families. I know that policies such as Paid Family and Medical Leave, Earned Sick and Safe Time, and further worker protections make it easier to cope with economic insecurity.

Minnesota's medical cannabis program and the recent opening of CBD and THC bring further clarity to the marketplace and are good steps toward full legalization of recreational marijuana.

Currently, too many public safety and correctional resources are being spent on the criminalization of marijuana. Smart regulations and creating a taxable market for marijuana make sense for Minnesota. 

We can learn from other states, including some of our close neighbors, in how to create a market for recreational marijuana that prevents underage consumption and supports law enforcement efforts to ensure people are not driving under the influence. We can pair this work with decriminalization and support for those who have been incarcerated under the war on drugs.