PRIORITIES
Fighting for my neighbors is not new to me.
As a life-long resident of our community, as a former public safety professional, as someone with over 20 years experience in the disability support services field, and as someone with an active civic history fighting for equality, I know how to improve our neighbors lives.
i stand up for what’s right and deliver what you need.
ICE/OPERATION METRO SURGE
Operation Metro Surge sabotaged community trust in our local law enforcement. In my career, I have served as a Sheriff’s Deputy, a Reserve Sergeant, and a 911 Dispatcher. To me, public safety is about keeping ALL of our neighbors safe regardless of their status, identity, or income. It’s a service you pay for and should receive the way you need it, when you need it.
ICE is a disgrace to our rights and an embarrassment to the law enforcement profession. The federal government harassed, stalked, arrested and murdered United States citizens in the name of immigration. Incompetent, violent ICE agents undermined our community values by tearing apart families, murdering neighbors, trampling rights, keeping kids from attending school, and withholding vital resources. And those agents each got a bonus bigger than the median income in Minnesota. It’s not only wrong, it’s expensive. We’re all paying for it. This dystopian version of our country isn’t what anyone fought for. It needs to stop.
It is shameful that citizens of color in Minnesota had to carry birth certificates to avoid arrest just going about their day. When the constitutional rights of one person are allowed to be violated by our government, all of us are at risk.
gun violence prevention
Imagine a world where no one has to worry that their child might be gunned down at school. How do we look parents in the eye and do nothing? We should do everything we can to save kids’ lives. No child deserves to be collateral damage while we ignore the fact that guns kill more kids in this country than anything else.
I own guns and grew up with them. I know that responsible gun owners expect to be held to high standards so that no gun gets in the wrong hands. We cannot be afraid to do what’s right.
We have a constitutional right to protect ourselves AND a constitutional obligation to regulate dangers to society. We can do both, we need to do both, saving lives is worth it.
voting rights
Right now Minnesota voters are worried about our federal government blocking their votes. This is deeply concerning, but I want people to know that elections in Minnesota are still protected. Early voting is still happening as scheduled, and if you want to take extra precautions, utilize in-person ballot drop off or early in-person voting.
Anyone who cares about representing the people should care about making sure everyone’s values are heard at the polls. We should be cutting strings that allow billionaires to puppeteer our democracy and put power back in the people’s hands.
Minnesota has a history of free, fair, and open elections. We have invested in our system to protect voters from being disenfranchised and to continue our state’s place amongst the top voter turnout states in the nation. Minnesota has protections in place that have been tested and proven to prevent voter fraud. As independent experts and voters in our community know, our system works. Initiatives like Ranked Choice Voting, expansions of no-excuse absentee voting, felon re-enfranchisement, and other efforts to ensure full participation help ensure all have a voice in who represents us.
Eliminating early voting or voting by mail discounts anyone with a busy life or barriers to transportation. Requiring identification ignores anyone without a place to call home. I don’t think it’s right for any of us to choose which voices matter the most in democracy. Everyone matters.
REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS
Politicians shouldn’t be in your doctor’s office. The medications you take and the care you receive certainly isn’t any of my business and I don’t ever want it to be.
I just want you to have access to affordable, quality healthcare that you choose for yourself. It’s not my place to agree or disagree with anyone’s healthcare choices, it’s my job to make sure you have options.
When the United States Supreme Court struck down the guaranteed right to abortion and reproductive health care in 2022, my colleagues and I galvanized around enshrining these rights into Minnesota law. The right to bodily autonomy protects so many intimate, personal decisions such as if and when we start a family. We have protected comprehensive sex education, access to reproductive health care across the entire state, and abortion in order to preserve Minnesotans’ fundamental rights.
We must continue to fight back against those that would take us backwards. Your body is your business, and I will fight to protect your decisions.
fraud
Criminals ripped us off and we have every right to be outraged. Minnesota has a history of generosity toward vulnerable people. These monsters made a promise to take care of people, lied about it, and bought fancy cars.
I was in disability services for 20 years. I spent a decade billing the state for those services with these same systems. I know how they work. I was honored to be brought into final negotiations last year to push for a strong anti-fraud package.
Trust can be hard to come by in politics. I’ve built excellent, trusting relationships in the capitol that pushed smart solutions forward. I’ve worked hard to maintain that across party lines for the residents in our district.
Whether we’re talking about the documented 500 million dollars found in fraud schemes or speculation up to the billions, any amount of fraud is too much. It’s why I fought so hard to ensure the Attorney General’s office could get more fraud investigators with federal money to pay for it. 45 states both red and blue run the same investigation units in the exact same way. Minnesota’s was far under resourced until this year yet performed at the same high level. These scammers are being caught, prosecuted and locked up. And I hope anyone else out there planning to steal from us is paying attention.
Fraud is nonpartisan. Criminals don’t care who they’re ripping off. They stole from children and people with disabilities, in some cases exploiting or neglecting them. It’s disgusting. People who commit fraud and exploit kids should not be allowed to set up shop again let alone run a whole country.
QUEER RIGHTS
First, we need to let kids be themselves. Bullying and othering from adults and through legislation hurts everyone. Kids are suffering as a result of all this pointless hatred. Just let them play.
As the Chair of the largest Queer Legislators Caucus in our state’s history, I am committed to advancing the rights of all Minnesotans regardless of their gender identity or sexual orientation. This means committing to accessible, high-quality health care; protection of our political and legal equality; and working to dismantle discrimination in all of its forms. We have made so much progress in the last few years, especially by making Minnesota a transgender refuge state, banning conversion “therapy”, and protecting access to gender affirming care. We have more to do, such as passing a comprehensive Equal Rights Amendment constitutional amendment to be put on our ballot.
We must protect and strengthen our communities across the state of Minnesota. For some, these protections are a matter of life and death, and I will continue the hard, necessary work at the Legislature.
DISABILITY SERVICES
The demands and costs for disability service providers and families of our neighbors with disabilities are increasing year after year. These cost increases are exacerbated by the fact that it’s harder and harder to find workers to care for our neighbors. For our neighbors with disabilities who are able to work, this includes paying them a fair wage for their work. We must continue the progress we’ve made of creating a fair wage for direct support professionals and easing some of the regulatory challenges to group homes, all while putting safety and high-quality services first.
We must do more to ensure our neighbors with disabilities are not just surviving, but thriving.
affordability
We should be getting more for our tax dollars, and it matters who’s getting taxed. Big social media corporations shouldn’t have more tax breaks than families and local businesses across the street. Instead of giving breaks and handouts to billionaires and corporations we should be providing relief where it's due: to the average family doing their best to thrive.
I secured free college for kids, free school meals, cut middle-class taxes, cut child poverty, and fought price gouging.
There’s more to be done with surveillance pricing, banning private equity from buying up homes in our neighborhoods, medicare for all, lowering the cost of childcare, and combatting corporate corruption.
The problems everyday families face are FAR BEYOND partisan politics. I don’t stand with corporations, I stand with YOU. We must make Minnesota affordable for all of our neighbors, and we owe it to all Minnesotans to share the prosperity of our state.
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
The impacts of climate change can be seen all around us. Minnesota has experienced extended droughts followed by excessively strong storms, wetter winters, wildfires, and erratic temperature swings. As past Vice Chair of the Sustainable Infrastructure Committee, I supported bold efforts to reduce pollution, increase renewable energy provision and usage, and invest in infrastructure that will stand the test of a changing climate. We also have a responsibility to make sure this renewable development benefits marginalized communities that were previously impacted by the buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure.
Data centers are a prime example of corporate greed quite literally drying up our land and our economy. I support a moratorium on data center construction in Minnesota. I also have a hard time believing any developer could come up with plans that don’t pollute our air, disrupt wildlife, and suck up our power and water. And we can’t find out, if these companies keep trying to hide behind non-disclosure agreements. We need transparency and strict regulations with real enforcement.
The White Bear Lake area has already had enough problems with pollution and water usage. I can’t in good conscience be a part of putting any other communities like ours at risk. It’s baffling to me that any candidate for office would praise pollution. I doubt the families affected by Water Gremlin would agree it’s good for us.
We must make headway every Legislative Session to mitigate climate change and protect Minnesota’s future for generations.
EDUCATION
Our local public education system is an incredible example of community-building and the power of our neighbors. Over the last few years, we have invested billions into pre-K, K12 education, and higher education. We are giving more and more families access to affordable preschool for their children. We are finally back to the levels of investment in K12 education prior to the drastic cuts from Governor Pawlenty’s administration, and I am confident that we will continue investing for our students. Finally, we created the North Star Promise grant program that ensures Minnesotans who make under $80,000 have free tuition and fees at all public postsecondary institutions in Minnesota, including the University of Minnesota and community colleges. As a Century College graduate myself, I know the benefit that these institutions hold for our neighbors.
We must continue to support our educators and students in every way possible.
labor & economic prosperity
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.
We need to invest in the basic resources people need. We have a big problem with affordable and abundant housing. Childcare is extremely expensive and difficult to balance for working families. These things make it difficult to find and keep a job that pays the bills.
We should invest more in Minnesotan businesses so we’re not letting our hard earned dollars fly out the door to fuel someone else’s economy. Put pressure on the ultra wealthy corporations, not main street Minnesota. And we need to block actions from above that put a strain on our families. We’re at risk of technology and AI taking over jobs, and in a workforce shortage that only grew during Operation Metro Surge.
Trump’s agenda is not the path to prosperity. It is devastating Minnesota families and rubber stamped by every republican politician in our state. Minnesota has the opportunity to make the ultra wealthy finally pay their fair share, cancel hidden corporate tax breaks, and ensure jobs with living wages. It just takes a DFL majority to make it happen.
We must make sure that our policies, such as Paid Family and Medical Leave, Earned Sick and Safe Time, and worker misclassification protections are implemented to benefit our workers.
HEALTHCARE
Health care is one of the top areas of cost concerns for our neighbors. The federal government and their republican allies in Minnesota are cutting funding and closing programs to save money for corporations, but where does that leave you?
We must do more to expand coverage to reduce costs. I support expanding Minnesota Care in ways that will help families in our community.
We must ensure Minnesotans can afford their health care, and right now we are not doing that.