Priorities
Since assuming office in 2022, I’ve earned a reputation for collaborating with my fellow council members, city officials, and community members to win changes that benefit working-class Minneapolis residents. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, including:
A fivefold increase in city funding for public housing, to $5 million per year.
Halting the demolition of the Roof Depot building, and creating a path to develop it as a community hub and urban farm.
Supported the continued success of the city’s Behavior Crisis Response team, a service outside of MPD for handling mental health emergencies, by extending the contract and increasing funding.
Leading Council to unanimously recommend adding five sidewalk plowing pilot programs to the 2024 budget.
Placed carbon fees on the city’s largest polluters, which is expected to help reduce emissions by up to 6%— paid for by the polluters themselves, not taxpayers.
Passing a local minimum wage policy for Uber and Lyft drivers that led to one of the strongest statewide policies for drivers’ wages and rights.
My ongoing priorities reflect the issues my Ward 2 constituents tell me matter most to them, and the areas where City Council has power to bring about meaningful change.
Environmental Justice
We must meet the urgency of climate change immediately by focusing on what the city has control over: public transportation infrastructure, urban spaces, and polluters in our community.
My Accomplishments
Supported East Phillips residents and the Ward 9 Council office to win a massive community victory for the East Phillips Urban Farm, overcoming almost a decade of opposition by the city establishment. Everyone has a right to a healthy environment and to say no to more polluters in their neighborhood.
Supported an additional $500,000 investment for the city to proactively take action and reduce harms from lead in homes.
In a massive win for the citywide People’s Climate and Equity Plan movement, I passed an ordinance that imposes carbon fees on the city’s largest polluters, which is expected to help reduce emissions by up to 6%— paid for by the polluters themselves, not taxpayers.
Brought forward a resolution opposing the increasing criminalization of water protectors and all environmental activists.
Co-authored a unanimous resolution supporting the closure of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) incinerator by 2027.
Co-authored a unanimous resolution supporting the Twin Cities Boulevard proposal for MNDOT’s Rethinking I-94 project. I have been vocal in championing an at-grade vision for I-94.
Authored a 2023 budget amendment that invested $100,000 into green infrastructure, allowing additional dollars to be leveraged to expand the City’s green workforce.
The Work Ahead
Continue my work implementing carbon fees.
Work with state legislators to expand the city’s authority to tax corporate polluters.
Work to develop a Just Transition Fund, a protected and community-controlled fund for climate resilience projects and restorative investments in neighborhoods most impacted by pollution.
Develop the green jobs pipeline by partnering with local schools, unions, and community institutions to bring more workers of color and young workers into the green economy.
Expand the City tree programs to accelerate and progressively finance tree canopy restoration in neighborhoods that have been damaged by emerald ash borer and the tornado in North Minneapolis in 2011.
Ensure tree canopy and green infrastructure is maximized in the construction of the Grands Round missing link.
Continue to support the Twin Cities Boulevard at the Rethinking I-94 Policy Advisory Committee to take the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to invest in major infrastructure that brings healthier air, new economic and transit opportunities, and begins undoing the devastating impact of highway construction on Twin Cities Black communities.
Continue to support the permanent closure of the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) trash burner, one of the single largest sources of pollution in Minnesota, and a just transition for workers there into union renewable-energy jobs.
Transportation Equity and Safe Streets for All
I will continue to build toward a more liveable Minneapolis where everyone can get around safely and easily, in every season.
My Accomplishments
Led the push for city-led sidewalk plowing, securing funding for three pilot programs that started in winter 2024-2025.
Led the Council in allocating an additional $1.5 million to the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program, meaning dozens more neighborhood streets will become safer with new features like speedbumps, bollards, and roundabouts.
Supported funding for Transit Ambassadors to support safety in transit corridors.
Supporting current expansion efforts of $1 bus rides for low-income residents through the city’s Transit Assistance Program.
Securing a multi-million dollar investment into increased street lighting around the City
Co-authored a unanimous resolution supporting the Twin Cities Boulevard proposal for MNDOT’s Rethinking I-94 project, championing a multimodal at-grade transit corridor and investing in communities disproportionately harmed by the highway’s construction.
Strongly championed the use of 24/7 bus lanes on Hennepin Ave, and defended Council’s authority to legislate lane usage.
Authoring a unanimous resolution in support of restoring the vibrant 6th Ave North cultural corridor, which was destroyed when the street was converted to Olson Memorial Highway.
Authoring an amendment to the city’s statewide legislative priorities supporting state legislation for a Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) reduction goal.
Funded a study toward building the Granary Crossing pedestrian and bike bridge, which would connect Como with Prospect Park and help students commute.
The Work Ahead
Expand funding for the Neighborhood Traffic Safety program and improve the turnaround time. Residents know their streets best and know what needs to be done to improve pedestrian safety in their neighborhoods.
Partner with unions and community groups to secure the necessary investment in the workforce needed to increase the frequency of public transit and make transit zero fare for all riders.
Implement a municipal sidewalk plowing program. Prioritize the clearing of the 300 miles of sidewalks most heavily used by pedestrians and transit users through a combination of Public Works staff, contracts with local business and neighborhood associations and a youth job program.
Housing for All
As a renter myself, I will continue to fight for a Minneapolis that we can all afford to call home—by stopping relentless rent increases and corporate profiteering, and supporting public housing and permanently affordable development.
My Accomplishments
Led Council to allocate $1.2 million for installing fire sprinklers in five public housing high rises that did not have them, improving safety for thousands of residents.
Successfully advocated for the city to establish a $5 million Public Housing Levy which will help to preserve and expand the city’s public housing stock.
Led an initiative to reinstate the Emergency Housing Voucher program with $1.8 million to provide 50 families and 50 individuals with permanent housing and wraparound services. This program has demonstrated great success in reducing homelessness and by the county’s own estimates, can help us permanently house up to 20% of currently unsheltered individuals in the next few years.
Worked with student renters who were displaced from Identity Dinkytown to pass policy changes that hold landlords accountable if they fail to provide housing by agreed upon deadlines.
Passed a mandatory disclosure ordinance which requires landlords inform tenants of their renter rights, and which will help renters learn about a prospective landlord’s code violations prior to signing a lease.
Increased funding for the city's Renter Relocation Fund which helps ensure housing provision for tenants unexpectedly displaced by their landlords.
Lead author on the Tenant Relocation Assistance Ordinance which will expand relocation assistance to tenants who are temporarily displaced.
Supported increased funding for the city’s Stable Homes Stable Schools program.
Secured a 2025 budget amendment to re-establish the Senior Housing Code Abatement program, which provides small grants and loans for home repairs and improvements to help seniors age in place and avoid displacement.
Lead author on an ordinance that will ban rent price-fixing using anti-competitive pricing algorithms and data sharing.
The Work Ahead
Pass a rent control policy that limits annual rent increases to 3% with no exceptions to allow our neighbors to stay in their homes. Any policy that does not control rents is not rent control.
Empower renters with the first right of purchase if their landlord chooses to sell by passing the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA). Our communities are stronger when our neighbors who rent are able to invest in their housing.
Expand and revamp the Vacant Building Registration (i.e. vacancy fees) to include both commercial and residential vacant properties. Corporate landlords have spent the last decade buying up affordable housing and now let units sit vacant rather than rent at market rates.
Prioritize City resources to build affordable housing and vibrant communities by only funding projects that are permanently affordable to residents, increasing the amount of funding for housing units that are targeted for unhoused residents and ensuring City-owned land parcels are sold and developed into entities that enrich neighborhoods.
Implement housing-first solutions to homelessness, combat predatory housing practices that lead to displacement, and connect unhoused residents with the permanent housing and wrap-around services needed to achieve long-term stability.
Public Safety Beyond Policing
Every single person in Minneapolis deserves to be safe, and I will continue to push for a complete transformation of public safety.
My Accomplishments
Secured $4 million for non-armed safety programs at the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center in Ward 2.
Allocated $500k for violence prevention, unarmed response, and restorative services to address gaps identified in the city’s Safe and Thriving Communities Plan.
Secured $500k for the Dinky After Dark program to help keep students safe by improving pedestrian lighting around Dinkytown.
Collaborated with city staff, state, and federal leaders to advocate for funding for suicide prevention additions onto Washington and 10th Ave Bridges.
Created the Safe and Thriving Communities Work Group, a community advisory body to support the City in creating a comprehensive public safety system including preventative, restorative and responsive services and oversee the creation of the new Community Safety Centers.
Extended the contract for the Behavioral Crisis Response team from a one-year to a two-year contract, ensuring that this extremely successful response model has stability at the city.
The Work Ahead
Continue to work with community and national experts to expand the role of unarmed public safety services.
Expand the city’s non-armed safety services, to include victim services, restorative justice programming, and other evidence-based initiatives to keep residents safe. and implement participatory budgeting in how funds are allocated. Communities that are most impacted by violence should be at the table to lead and receive resources.
Take advantage of new state funds to invest in prevention and treatment programs for opioid addiction.
Ensure the South Minneapolis Safety Center has trusted, credible, and data-backed safety services.
Expand the City’s diversion pathways program and collaborate with Hennepin County to increase resources to youth who have a high risk of entering the criminal justice system.
Expand programs that support residents impacted most by gun violence, including restorative services, mental health support and relocation funds.
Invest in programs to combat domestic violence and human trafficking in our communities.
Use every means at the City’s disposal to make immigrant residents feel safe from unfair deportations, family separation, and hate crimes.
Accountability for MPD
I will continue my work to rein in the Minneapolis Police Department, which has operated as if above the law and has put Minneapolis on the hook for millions in misconduct lawsuits.
My Accomplishments
Passed an off-duty ordinance which will allow the city to recoup millions of dollars in costs related to MPD officers’s side gigs that are currently subsidized by taxpayers.
Led colleagues in allocating nearly $700,000 towards the formation of 5 full-time Civilian Investigator positions so that MPD can begin addressing and reducing its 5,000 case backlog dealing with homicides, sexual assault, and thefts.
Secured unanimous support in Council for independent investigations into MPD’s failures in two 2024 incidents, the shooting of Davis Moturi and the death of Allison Lussier.
In 2022, allocated $100k for community engagement on the Future of the Former Third Precinct, the first commitment from the city that the public will be included in the decision.
Pushed for more public engagement in police contract negotiations, resulting in public input sessions for the first time in the City’s history.
Spoke in support of state legislation barring MPD officers who are members of white supremacist organizations.
The Work Ahead
Justice for Victims–The current police contract includes problematic provisions that systematically ensure residents in Minneapolis are less safe. Unnecessary provisions currently cap the amount of police investigators the city can staff and hire to solve criminal cases. This results in Minneapolis residents having a police department that by design will always have a backlog of cases, leaving victims without closure or justice.
Off Duty Reform–the City cannot continue to claim there is a staffing problem while also continuing to allow the status quo of police officers working nearly 100,000 of off-duty hours annually. I will continue to fight for a contract that allows Minneapolis the same ability to regulate off-duty work like other major cities nationwide, including Saint Paul.
Continue to ensure that police contract bargaining sessions be open to the public, to ensure transparency and that public input is heard.
Ban the Thin Blue Line symbol on city property.
Pass a surveillance ordinance to halt the ongoing proliferation of police surveillance technology without community input or oversight.
Support state legislation that would allow cities to require police self-insurance so taxpayers don’t foot the bill for MPD misconduct.
Support initiatives that will keep MPD compliant with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights legal settlement agreement and the DOJ consent decree.
Strengthening Our Local Economy for Business and Workers
We need to significantly invest in and support local businesses, especially Black and Brown business owners whom the city has historically marginalized.
My Accomplishments
Passed a unanimous vacancy fee ordinance which tripled the fees on hazardous and vacant properties.
Supported establishing a pilot to create a small-business construction hardship forgivable loan program to help entrepreneurs whose business are along transit corridors under major construction.
Authored a budget amendment to invest $500,000 to support workforce development and teacher training for Early Childhood Education.
Authoring an ordinance that will support revitalization of empty buildings through fees on empty storefronts.
Led colleagues in allocating $700,000 in assistance for small businesses along cultural corridors impacted by 2020’s civil unrest.
Door knocked East Lake Street, helping small business owners navigate incoming transit development and access business support services.
The Work Ahead
Keep our local businesses in the neighborhoods they serve: Pass ordinances for Commercial Rent Control and Advance Notice of Commercial Sale and support the creation of Commercial Property Trusts.
Establish a municipal bank to provide loans and access to credit to local businesses, check cashing and financial services for residents, support cooperatively owned projects and reduce interest rates paid by the City.
Expand access to City of Minneapolis union career pathways for Black and Brown Minneapolis residents.
Workers’ Rights
I support workers wherever they are organizing for dignity, living wages, and a safe workplace in Minneapolis.
My Accomplishments
Led the City Council to pass the Fair Drives Safe Rides policy, providing a $15 minimum wage and protecting workers’ rights for Uber and Lyft drivers. I worked with drivers, legislators, and national experts to pass one of the strongest rideshare driver policies in the country and delivered major raises to 10,000 drivers across Minnesota.
Supported increased funding for co-enforcement to ensure workers are not being exploited by wage theft.
Vocally advocated for the creation of a Labor Standards Board.
Authored a unanimous Resolution of Support for Striking Educators and walked the picket line with our educators.
Authored a unanimous Resolution of Support for Starbucks workers and urging Starbucks to agree to non-interference principles, and walking the picket line with striking Starbucks workers.
Authored a unanimous Resolution of Support for graduate student workers and urging the University of Minnesota to agree to non-interference principles.
Co-authored a Resolution which increased the amount of paid parental leave for all 4,000 City of Minneapolis employees.
Rallied with Delta workers and led Council to pass a resolution standing in solidarity with Delta workers organizing a union.
Authored a unanimous Resolution of Support for striking Park Board workers.
The Work Ahead
Continue pushing for workers to have a seat at the table in City decisionmaking through a Labor Standards Board.
Regulate restaurant surcharges and service fees to create transparency for restaurant workers and customers.
Create stability and consistency in workers' lives with an ordinance to require fair scheduling, one day off in seven and the right to refuse close/opens.
Fully fund co-enforcement programs to protect workers from dangerous working conditions and wage theft.
Expanding Local Democracy
Protecting and expanding democracy is more important than ever. I meet Ward 2 residents where they live, and bring in voices often left out of City decisions, from seniors to students to public housing residents.
My Accomplishments
Administered a survey to every resident of Ward 2, innovating a new method of municipal participatory governance.
Been a leading voice for fiscal responsibility and transparency around the MN Department of Human Rights and Department of Justice consent decrees, authoring legislative action to ensure Council and the public understand the costs and how to minimize the burden on taxpayers.
Worked with and welcomed students, workers, and community groups into legislative work.
Successfully led on the need for a fully funded and fully staffed legislative department to protect local democracy in Minneapolis City governance.
Authored 40% of all legislative actions taken in 2024–one of the most productive of the 13 Council offices.
The Work Ahead
Continue to develop the city’s new Legislative Department, including policy support clinics for residents to bring policy ideas to be workshopped into possible legislation.
Implement participatory budgeting so residents can better shape Minneapolis’ spending priorities.
Shift public hearings to the evening and weekend hours to allow easier participation by residents in key City decisions.
Students and Campus Communities
Ward 2 is proudly home to UMN and Augsburg. Students’ experiences are shaped by Minneapolis City policies, and I’m committed to uplifting their concerns and priorities.
My Accomplishments
Hosted a know-your-rights training for student renters in collaboration with the UMN Undergraduate Student Government and the offices of Student Legal Services and Off-Campus Living and collaborated with the UMN Undergraduate Student Government, UMN offices, local neighborhood groups and state elected officials on informing students on their rights as renters during back-to-school.
Supported graduate workers organizing a union, rallying alongside them and leading City Council to pass a unanimous resolution in support.
Worked with the UMN Undergraduate Student Government to activate student voices in the legislative process on priorities like increased street lighting, safe sidewalks, and rent control.
Led the City Council to add tuition free college to the city’s legislative priorities at the state level. This 2023 victory at the state legislature means thousands of working class students will have free tuition starting in 2024.
Hosted two Urban Scholar interns from the University of Minnesota and many shadow day experiences.
The Work Ahead
Continue to proactively involve students in City decisions that impact their lives.
Continue to coordinate with student government, community partners and City Departments to educate and empower student renters about their rights.
Direct Minneapolis legislative priorities to incorporate student issues, including student debt and dorm maintenance.
Coordinate with state partners to address student food insecurity and expand access to affordable, healthy groceries near campus.