City/Town: Spring Valley

Legislative District: House District 26B

Party: Democratic Farmer Labor

Candidate responses in italics.

Q1: Housing plays a critical role in economic stability, health, and quality of life for individuals and families. However, disparities in housing continue to affect communities of color, people with disabilities, rural communities, and other historically underserved populations. What meaningful actions should be taken to acknowledge, address, and eliminate housing inequities and advance housing opportunities for all Minnesotans?

I admit that I do not know what policies I should support that will address disparities in housing among marginalized communities; that is something I will commit to researching, and I like forward to learning more from organizations like MHP to see what solutions are available.

Q2: Supportive housing combines affordable housing with support services that help people who face the most complex challenges to live with stability, autonomy, and dignity. Supportive housing provides better outcomes and is fiscally responsible. What will you do to ensure community members who are unhoused or unstably housed receive the support they need to obtain or keep their own homes?

I fully support policies that supports the unhoused and unstably housed. If elected, I will do what I can to ensure that programs such as the FHPAP receive the funding necessary to continue providing lifechanging services to folks facing housing insecurity.

Q3: Homeownership is a way to build generational wealth, provide family and household stability, and support community vibrancy. More and more Minnesotans are priced out of owning a home because of rising housing costs, including purchase price, homeowners’ insurance, and property taxes. What steps will you take to increase opportunities for renters and first-time homebuyers to purchase homes, condos, or cooperative ownership models?

One action we can take is make sure we have a large enough supply of housing that is marketed toward senior citizens. As baby boomers age, many may be looking to downsize. Smaller homes are easier for aging citizens to manage, allowing them to more easily stay and age in their homes with dignity and autonomy. By addressing housing for seniors, that opens up larger single-family homes that were previously occupied to families with children who are also experiencing a lack of affordable housing that meets their needs.

Q4: In the last several years, bipartisan action to streamline building of new homes and apartments has passed in several states, including: allowing for multifamily buildings in select commercial areas, limiting parking requirements, allowing smaller homes on smaller lots, and more homes per lot in residential areas like duplexes, fourplexes, and accessory dwelling units. What reforms do you support to modernize zoning to both enable homes to be more affordable statewide and improve city tax bases?

I support legislation that allows mixed-use zoning, allowing for a mix of single-family, multi-family, apartment, and courtyard housing in downtown commercial areas. This not only creates more housing, but makes communities more walkable and desirable.

Q5: Despite housing being the largest cost in the average household budget, housing receives only a small fraction of the total state budget at just 0.3%. A lack of ongoing reliable funding for housing in Minnesota’s state budget has resulted in an undersupply of stable homes affordable to our workforce, our elders, and our families. In recent years, a constitutional amendment for housing, which would dedicate revenues from a sales tax increase to housing, has gained momentum at the legislature. What revenue options will you champion to more adequately meet our need for reliable funding for homes we can afford?

I support a more equitable tax system here in Minnesota. If increasing revenue is necessary, than I will encourage my fellow lawmakers to end certain tax exemptions that the wealthiest of corporations and in Minnesota are currently taking advantage of, in order to increase revenue that can be better utilized for important social services like healthcare and housing.

Q6: If you have other housing policy priorities, especially specific to your district’s housing needs, please share them here.

I am learning more and more about the housing needs of Minnesotans every day as I talk to voters in my district and with other candidates. I have learned a great deal from other knowledgeable candidates like Dan Wilson in District 26A, and am looking forward to working with him and others to make sure Minnesotans can afford to live in this state we love.