City/Town: Woodbury

Legislative District: Senate District 47

Party: DFL

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?

Creating the best solutions comes from intentionally engaging with the community, listening to their lived experiences, and developing outcomes in partnership. I will continue to seek out opportunities to work with community based organizations, housing advocates, other legislators engaged in this work, and people most impacted.

The legislature can address direct and indirect ways that contribute to housing inequities. Multiple, indirect factors that contribute housing instability include healthcare debt, student loan debt, and intermittent work. One option to address the housing needs is adjusting the threshold for rental assistance so that more people with low income are eligible. Another option is assistance with student loan debt. Lastly, we can continue to examine and address predatory practices of landlords that prevent renters from having enough money to pay rent when it is due (e.g. high security deposits and other fees prior to moving in).

Other direct ways include continuing to address tenant rights to ensure that landlords are properly repairing their properties. Finally, we must understand that while newer technology and more efficient appliances are better for the environment, the upfront cost can make them out of reach for Minnesotans who cannot afford it. Programs focused on increasing energy efficiency of homes should have specific language and budget allocations to be environmentally just.

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?

We need to ensure that people have knowledge of and access to services to help them meet their needs. The practice of providing wrap-around services has shown to be successful in helping people remain housed, access food and other benefit programs, address any healthcare needs, including mental health and substance use disorder treatment, and find schooling. The collaboration and coordination of these services should be included as part of overall budget allocations.

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?

Policy initiatives like down-payment assistance, financing opportunities, increased access to affordable healthcare, increased availability of affordable childcare, and student loan debt assistance would all contribute to increased opportunities for homeownership.

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?

My three priorities include continued evaluation on how the state can encourage local government to build higher density housing, address barriers to more affordable housing costs (e.g. specific aesthetics that drive up the cost of building homes), and ways to increase homeownership in disproportionately disadvantaged communities.

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?

As a legislator, I supported bold housing initiatives including $1 billion in funding and addressing local zoning ordinances that prevent higher density housing from being built. I will continue to support legislative initiatives that includes housing in our budget priorities.

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

Housing policy priorities in south Maplewood and Woodbury are reflected in the above questions and answers.